Earth & Environment

Responding to Climate Change

Published December 12, 2017 Curated Collections

Few areas can benefit as much from the force of Open Access as climate change research: the combination of public, scientific, and governmental interest with the mounting misinformation, unsubstantiated opinions, and unsourced data make public access to original, well-reported, and peer-reviewed climate change research of utmost importance. This collection comprises of climate research highlighting efforts from a range of disciplines (alternative energy production, geoengineering, behavioural psychology and science policy) focussed on mitigating and adapting to the effects of the changing climate. PLOS ONE's wide scope and broad publication criteria make it a perfect venue to collate and curate relevant articles in these vastly differing areas of research. Our hope is that by encouraging and facilitating further research, replication, this collection will become a catalyst for continued climate research and policy formation.

Image Credit: Matt Rudge, Flickr.com; Vik Walker, Flickr.com; Vera Kratochvil, PublicDomainPictures.net; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Jump to section

PLOS Channels
Introductory Articles and Blogs
Reddit AMA with James Hansen and Colleagues
Alternative Energy
Conservation Science
Human Behaviour and Psychology
Industry and Engineering
Mitigation and Adaptation
Policy and Politics

PLOS Channels

Image credit
Inchi9

PLOS Channels & Collections PLOS Responding to Climate Change Channel – Meet the Editors
December 11, 2017 Juan Antonio Añel, Vanesa Magar and João Miguel Dias

Introductory Articles and Blogs

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0052625; 10.1371/journal.pone.0046639; 10.1371/journal.pone.0053712;

EveryONE James Hansen and Colleagues Offer Evidence for a Disruptive Call to Action
December 3, 2013 Damian Pattinson
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0081648

PLOS ONE Assessing “Dangerous Climate Change”: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature
December 3, 2013 James Hansen, Pushker Kharecha, Makiko Sato, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Frank Ackerman, David Beerling, Paul Hearty, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Shi-Ling Hsu, Camille Parmesan, Johan Rockstrom, Eelco Rohling, Jeffrey Sachs, Pete Smith, Konrad Steffen, Lise Van Susteren, Karina von Schuckmann, James Zachos
Image credit
Luca Galuzzi – www.galuzzi.it

EveryONE PLOS launches Responding to Climate Change Collection
July 2, 2014 Damian Pattinson
Image credit
PLOS

PLOS Ecology Community Climate change is happening: will we be fairly represented in Paris?
December 6, 2015 Sasha Wright, Mary Seeburger, and Willa Tsokanis
Image credit
PLOS

PLOS Ecology Community Religion and Climate Change in Austrailia
December 1, 2015 Jeff Atkins
Image credit
Credit: Matt Rudge, Flickr.com; Vik Walker, Flickr.com; Vera Kratochvil, PublicDomainPictures.net; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

PLOS Collections Blog New content added to the Responding to Climate Change Collection
November 24, 2015 PLOS Collections
Image credit
Vik Walker, Flickr.com

PLOS Collections Blog Responding to Climate Change – an update
August 12, 2015 PLOS Collections
Image credit
Sasha Wright

PLOS Ecology Community All eyes on the oceans: James Hansen and sea level rise
August 10, 2015 Sasha Wright
Image credit
Matt Rudge, Flickr.com; Vik Walker, Flickr.com; Vera Kratochvil, PublicDomainPictures.net; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

EveryONE Announcing the Latest Update to the Responding the Climate Change Collection
December 12, 2014 Jenni Horsley

Reddit AMA with James Hansen and Colleagues

Image credit
Reddit

Reddit PLOS Science Wednesday
August 12, 2015 James Hansen, Paul Hearty, George Tselioudis & Pushker Kharecha

Alternative Energy

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0150956

PLOS ONE Reconciling Biodiversity Conservation and Widespread Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies in the UK
May 26, 2016 Benedict Gove, Leah J. Williams, Alison E. Beresford, Philippa Roddis, Colin Campbell, Emma Teuten, Rowena H. W. Langston, Richard B. Bradbury
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0152033

PLOS ONE Drivers of Public Attitudes towards Small Wind Turbines in the UK
March 24, 2016 Cerian Tatchley, Heather Paton, Emma Robertson, Jeroen Minderman, Nicholas Hanley, Kirsty Park
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0150837

PLOS ONE Carbon Abatement and Emissions Associated with the Gasification of Walnut Shells for Bioenergy and Biochar Production
March 10, 2016 Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Emma C. Suddick, Johan Six
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0140226

PLOS ONE Conservation Planning for Offsetting the Impacts of Development: A Case Study of Biodiversity and Renewable Energy in the Mojave Desert
November 3, 2015 Jason Kreitler, Carrie A. Schloss, Oliver Soong, Lee Hannah, Frank W. Davis
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0135312

PLOS ONE Green Power Grids: How Energy from Renewable Sources Affects Networks and Markets
September 3, 2015 Mario Mureddu, Guido Caldarelli, Alessandro Chessa, Alfonso Damiano, Antonio Scala
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0136876

PLOS ONE Normal and Extreme Wind Conditions for Power at Coastal Locations in China
August 27, 2015 Meng Gao, Jicai Ning, Xiaoqing Wu
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0135730

PLOS ONE The Impacts of Wind Speed Trends and 30-Year Variability in Relation to Hydroelectric Reservoir Inflows on Wind Power in the Pacific Northwest
August 13, 2015 Benjamin D. Cross, Karen E. Kohfeld, Joseph Bailey, Andrew B. Cooper
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0124074

PLOS ONE Potential for Worldwide Displacement of Fossil-Fuel Electricity by Nuclear Energy in Three Decades Based on Extrapolation of Regional Deployment Data
May 13, 2015 Staffan A. Qvist, Barry W. Brook
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0099608

PLOS ONE The Potential Wind Power Resource in Australia: A New Perspective
July 2, 2014 Willow Hallgren, Udaya Bhaskar Gunturu, Adam Schlosser
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0067864

PLOS ONE Determinants of the Pace of Global Innovation in Energy Technologies
October 14, 2013 Luís M. A. Bettencourt, Jessika E. Trancik, Jasleen Kaur

Conservation Science

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0159909

PLOS ONE Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation
August 10, 2016 Toni Lyn Morelli, Christopher Daly, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Deanna M. Dulen, Joseph L. Ebersole, Stephen T. Jackson, Jessica D. Lundquist, Constance I. Millar, Sean P. Maher, William B. Monahan, Koren R. Nydick, Kelly T. Redmond, Sarah C. Sawyer, Sarah Stock, Steven R. Beissinger
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0145285

PLOS ONE Projected Scenarios for Coastal First Nations’ Fisheries Catch Potential under Climate Change: Management Challenges and Opportunities
January 13, 2016 Lauren V. Weatherdon, Yoshitaka Ota, Miranda C. Jones, David A. Close, William W. L. Cheung
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0144089

PLOS ONE Implications of Climate Change for Bird Conservation in the Southwestern U.S. under Three Alternative Futures
December 23, 2015 Megan M. Friggens, Deborah M. Finch
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0139640

PLOS ONE Under What Circumstances Do Wood Products from Native Forests Benefit Climate Change Mitigation?
October 5, 2015 Heather Keith, David Lindenmayer, Andrew Macintosh, Brendan Mackey
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0129225

PLOS ONE Safeguarding Ecosystem Services: A Methodological Framework to Buffer the Joint Effect of Habitat Configuration and Climate Change
June 19, 2015 T Cristina Giannini, Leandro Tambosi, André Acosta, Rodolfo Jaffé, Antonio Saraiva, Vera Imperatriz-Fonseca, Jean Metzger
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0128226

PLOS ONE Protected Area Tourism in a Changing Climate: Will Visitation at US National Parks Warm Up or Overheat?
June 17, 2015 Nicholas Fisichelli, Gregor Schuurman, William Monahan, Pamela Ziesler
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0129528

PLOS ONE Shading and Watering as a Tool to Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change in Sea Turtle Nests
June 1, 2015 Jacob Hill, Frank Paladino, James Spotila, Pilar Santidrián Tomillo
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0113905

PLOS ONE Can Wide Consultation Help with Setting Priorities for Large-Scale Biodiversity Monitoring Programs?
December 19, 2014 Frédéric Boivin, Anouk Simard, Pedro Peres-Neto
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0113749

PLOS ONE Improving the Use of Species Distribution Models in Conservation Planning and Management under Climate Change
November 24, 2014 Luciana Porfirio, Rebecca Harris, Edward Lefroy, Sonia Hugh, Susan Gould, Greg Lee, Nathaniel Bindoff, Brendan Mackey
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0110634

PLOS ONE Redefining Thermal Regimes to Design Reserves for Coral Reefs in the Face of Climate Change
October 21, 2014 Iliana Chollett, Susana Enríquez, Peter Mumby
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0101302

PLOS ONE Climate Exposure of US National Parks in a New Era of Change
July 2, 2014 William Monahan, Nicholas Fisichelli
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0101281

PLOS ONE Public Support for Conserving Bird Species Runs Counter to Climate Change Impacts on Their Distributions
July 1, 2014 Thomas Lundhede, Jette Jacobsen, Nick Hanley, Jon Fjeldså, Carsten Rahbek, Niels Strange, Bo Thorsen

Human Behaviour and Psychology

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0155137

PLOS ONE Forest Owners’ Response to Climate Change: University Education Trumps Value Profile
May 25, 2016 Kristina Blennow, Johannes Persson, Erik Persson, Marc Hanewinkel
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0154078

PLOS ONE Validity of Willingness to Pay Measures under Preference Uncertainty
April 20, 2016 Carola Braun, Katrin Rehdanz, Ulrich Schmidt
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0144070

PLOS ONE Electricity and Water Conservation on College and University Campuses in Response to National Competitions among Dormitories: Quantifying Relationships between Behavior, Conservation Strategies and Psychological Metrics
December 16, 2015 John E. Petersen, Cynthia M. Frantz, Md. Rumi Shammin, Tess M. Yanisch, Evan Tincknell, Noel Myers
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0141526

PLOS ONE Local Climate Experts: The Influence of Local TV Weather Information on Climate Change Perceptions
November 9, 2015 Brittany Bloodhart, Edward Maibach, Teresa Myers, Xiaoquan Zhao
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0138208

PLOS ONE Tracking Public Beliefs About Anthropogenic Climate Change
September 30, 2015 Lawrence C. Hamilton, Joel Hartter, Mary Lemcke-Stampone, David W. Moore, Thomas G. Safford
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0138996

PLOS ONE Talking about Climate Change and Global Warming
September 29, 2015 Maurice Lineman, Yuno Do, Ji Yoon Kim, Gea-Jae Joo
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0136092

PLOS ONE Climate Change Sentiment on Twitter: An Unsolicited Public Opinion Poll
August 20, 2015 Emily M. Cody, Andrew J. Reagan, Lewis Mitchell, Peter Sheridan Dodds, Christopher M. Danforth
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0134993

PLOS ONE Child Centred Approach to Climate Change and Health Adaptation through Schools in Bangladesh: A Cluster Randomised Intervention Trial
August 7, 2015 Md Iqbal Kabir, Md Bayzidur Rahman, Wayne Smith, Mirza Afreen Fatima Lusha, Abul Hasnat Milton
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0134868

PLOS ONE Religion Does Matter for Climate Change Attitudes and Behavior
August 6, 2015 Mark Morrison, Roderick Duncan, Kevin Parton
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0128121

PLOS ONE How Does a Divided Population Respond to Change?
July 10, 2015 Murad Qubbaj, Rachata Muneepeerakul, Rimjhim Aggarwal, John Anderies
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0120563

PLOS ONE What Drives Farmers to Make Top-Down or Bottom-Up Adaptation to Climate Change and Fluctuations? A Comparative Study on 3 Cases of Apple Farming in Japan and South Africa
March 30, 2015 Mariko Fujisawa, Kazuhiko Kobayashi, Peter Johnston, Mark New
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0120985

PLOS ONE Simple Messages Help Set the Record Straight about Scientific Agreement on Human-Caused Climate Change: The Results of Two Experiments
March 26, 2015 Teresa Myers, Edward Maibach, Ellen Peters, Anthony Leiserowitz
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0117612

PLOS ONE Simulating Irrational Human Behavior to Prevent Resource Depletion
March 11, 2015 Anna Sircova, Fariba Karimi, Evgeny N. Osin, Sungmin Lee, Petter Holme, Daniel Strömbom
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0118489

PLOS ONE The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence
February 25, 2015 Sander van der linden, Anthony Leiserowitz, Geoffrey Feinberg, Edward Maibach
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0103180

PLOS ONE Proximity to Coast Is Linked to Climate Change Belief
July 21, 2014 Taciano Milfont, Laurel Evans, Chris Sibley, Jan Ries, Andrew Cunningham
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0097480

PLOS ONE Awareness of Climate Change and the Dietary Choices of Young Adults in Finland: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study
May 13, 2014 Essi Korkala, Timo Hugg, Jouni Jaakkola
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0094785

PLOS ONE Climate Change on Twitter: Topics, Communities and Conversations about the 2013 IPCC Working Group 1 Report
April 9, 2014 Warren Pearce, Kim Holmberg, Iina Hellsten, Brigitte Nerlich
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0092019

PLOS ONE 20∶60∶20 – Differences in Energy Behaviour and Conservation between and within Households with Electricity Monitors
March 18, 2014 Niamh Murtagh, Birgitta Gatersleben, David Uzzell

Industry and Engineering

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0152057

PLOS ONE Collaborative Emission Reduction Model Based on Multi-Objective Optimization for Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants
March 24, 2016 Qing-chun Meng, Xiao-xia Rong, Yi-min Zhang, Xiao-le Wan, Yuan-yuan Liu, Yu-zhi Wang
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0148527

PLOS ONE A Global Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Management Practices on Net Global Warming Potential and Greenhouse Gas Intensity from Cropland Soils
February 22, 2016 Upendra M. Sainju
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0136648

PLOS ONE Optimal Sunshade Configurations for Space-Based Geoengineering near the Sun-Earth L₁ Point
August 26, 2015 Joan-Pau Sánchez, Colin R. McInnes
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0124413

PLOS ONE Climate Impacts on Extreme Energy Consumption of Different Types of Buildings
April 29, 2015 Mingcai Li, Jun Shi, Jun Guo, Jingfu Cao, Jide Niu, Mingming Xiong
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0105040

PLOS ONE Carbon Footprint of Telemedicine Solutions – Unexplored Opportunity for Reducing Carbon Emissions in the Health Sector
September 4, 2014 Åsa Holmner, Kristie Ebi, Lutfan Lazuardi, Maria Nilsson
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0091281

PLOS ONE Biodiverse Planting for Carbon and Biodiversity on Indigenous Land
March 17, 2014 Anna Renwick, Catherine Robinson, Tara Martin, Tracey May, Phil Polglase, Hugh Possingham, Josie Carwardine
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0089501

PLOS ONE Energy Potential and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Bioenergy Cropping Systems on Marginally Productive Cropland
March 4, 2014 Marty Schmer, Ken Vogel, Gary Varvel, Ron Follett, Rob Mitchell, Virginia Jin
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0089210

PLOS ONE Shale Gas, Wind and Water: Assessing the Potential Cumulative Impacts of Energy Development on Ecosystem Services within the Marcellus Play
February 19, 2014 Jeffrey Evans, Joseph Kiesecker
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0088849

PLOS ONE A Risk-Based Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering
February 12, 2014 Angus Ferraro, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Eleanor Highwood

Mitigation and Adaptation

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0143426

PLOS ONE Deriving Multiple Benefits from Carbon Market-Based Savanna Fire Management: An Australian Example
December 2, 2015 Jeremy Russell-Smith, Cameron P. Yates, Andrew C. Edwards, Peter J. Whitehead, Brett P. Murphy, Michael J. Lawes
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0147201

PLOS ONE Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change, Priorities, and Decision-Making among Municipalities in Lima, Peru to Better Inform Adaptation and Mitigation Planning
January 25, 2016 Mariella Siña, Rachel C. Wood, Enrique Saldarriaga, Joshua Lawler, Joseph Zunt, Patricia Garcia, César Cárcamo
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0150575

PLOS ONE Structural and Psycho-Social Limits to Climate Change Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef Region
March 9, 2016 Louisa S. Evans, Christina C. Hicks, W. Neil Adger, Jon Barnett, Allison L. Perry, Pedro Fidelman, Renae Tobin
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0151558

PLOS ONE Adapting to the Changing Climate: An Assessment of Local Health Department Preparations for Climate Change-Related Health Threats, 2008-2012
March 18, 2016 Connie Roser-Renouf, Edward W. Maibach, Jennifer Li
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0144884

PLOS ONE Energy Structure and Energy Security under Climate Mitigation Scenarios in China
December 10, 2015 Ken’ichi Matsumoto
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0136392

PLOS ONE Quantifying and Mapping the Supply of and Demand for Carbon Storage and Sequestration Service from Urban Trees
August 28, 2015 Chang Zhao, Heather A. Sander
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0135597

PLOS ONE The Influence of Drivers and Barriers on Urban Adaptation and Mitigation Plans—An Empirical Analysis of European Cities
August 28, 2015 Diana Reckien, Johannes Flacke, Marta Olazabal, Oliver Heidrich
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0124843

PLOS ONE Hand in Hand: Public Endorsement of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
April 29, 2015 Adrian Brügger, Thomas Morton, Suraje Dessai
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0106645

PLOS ONE Why Do Some People Do “More” to Mitigate Climate Change than Others? Exploring Heterogeneity in Psycho-Social Associations
September 5, 2014 José Manuel Ortega Egea, Nieves García de Frutos, Raquel Antolín López
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0102072

PLOS ONE Voluntary Climate Change Mitigation Actions of Young Adults: A Classification of Mitigators through Latent Class Analysis
July 23, 2014 Essi Korkala, Timo Hugg, Jouni Jaakkola
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0100852

PLOS ONE Avoided Heat-Related Mortality through Climate Adaptation Strategies in Three US Cities
June 25, 2014 Brian Stone, Jason Vargo, Peng Liu, Dana Habeeb, Anthony DeLucia, Marcus Trail, Yongtao Hu, Armistead Russell

Policy and Politics

Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0153296

PLOS ONE What Is the Association between Absolute Child Poverty, Poor Governance, and Natural Disasters? A Global Comparison of Some of the Realities of Climate Change
April 14, 2016 Adel Daoud, Björn Halleröd, Debarati Guha-Sapir
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0151469

PLOS ONE The Effect of Information Provision on Public Consensus about Climate Change
April 11, 2016 Tatyana Deryugina, Olga Shurchkov
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0149406

PLOS ONE Trading Off Global Fuel Supply, CO₂ Emissions and Sustainable Development
March 9, 2016 Liam Wagner, Ian Ross, John Foster, Ben Hankamer
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0114335

PLOS ONE The Effect of Framing and Normative Messages in Building Support for Climate Policies
December 15, 2014 Mark Hurlstone, Stephan Lewandowsky, Ben Newell, Brittany Sewell
Image credit
10.1371/journal.pone.0107126

PLOS ONE Accounting for Biomass Carbon Stock Change Due to Wildfire in Temperate Forest Landscapes in Australia
September 10, 2014 Heather Keith, David Lindenmayer, Brendan Mackey, David Blair, Lauren Carter, Lachlan McBurney, Sachiko Okada, Tomoko Konishi-Nagano
Image credit
Matt Rudge, Flickr.com; Vik Walker, Flickr.com; Vera Kratochvil, PublicDomainPictures.net; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

PLOS ONE Identifying the Science and Technology Dimensions of Emerging Public Policy Issues through Horizon Scanning
May 30, 2014 Miles Parker, Andrew Acland, Harry Armstrong, Jim Bellingham, Jessica Bland, Helen Bodmer, Simon Burall, Sarah Castell, Jason Chilvers, David Cleevely, David Cope, Lucia Constanzo, Robert Doubleday, James Dolan, Wai Yi Feng, Charles Godfray, David Good, Jonathan Grant, Nick Green, Arnoud Groen, Tim Guilliams, Sunjai Gupta, Amanda Hall, Adam Heathfield, Ulrike Hotopp, Gary Kass, Tim Leeder, Fiona Lickorish, Leila Luheshi, Chris Magee, Tiago Mata, Tony McBride, Natasha McCarthy, Alan Mercer, Ross Neilson, Jackie Ouchikh, Edward Oughton, David Oxenham, Helen Pallett, James Palmer, Jeff Patmore, Judith Petts, Jan Pinkerton, Richard Ploszek, Alan Pratt, Sophie Rocks, Neil Stansfield, Elizabeth Surkovic, Christopher Tyler, Andrew Watkinson, Jonny Wentworth, Rebecca Willis, Patrick Wollner, Kim Worts, William Sutherland

Call for Papers

PLOS ONE welcomes submissions to the Responding to Climate Change Collection.

Call for Papers

PLOS Collections Blog - Earth & Environmental Sciences

PLOS Launches Responding to Climate Change Channel

The new home for Climate Change Research at PLOS

Check it out

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change

A collection emphasizing the varied effects of climate change on ecology and people.

Learn More