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January 15, 2015

Planetary dashboard shows “Great Acceleration” in human activity since 1950

Press release | A decade on, IGBP in collaboration with the Stockholm Resilience Centre has reassessed and updated the Great Acceleration indicators, first published in the IGBP synthesis, Global Change and the Earth System in 2004.
November 14, 2013

Ocean acidifcation summary for policymakers published

Press release | Ocean acidification may increase 170% this century with substantial costs expected from coral reef loss and declines in shellfisheries. Cold water corals also at risk.
April 22, 2013

First 2000-year temperature reconstructions for individual continents published

Press release | An international team of 78 researchers has published the most comprehensive reconstruction of past temperature changes at the continental scale. The research confirms an overall cooling trend across nearly all continents during the last one to two thousand years.
February 18, 2013

Smarter use of nutrients will help clean up the planet, say scientists

Press release | A new report from the IGBP-sponsored International Nitrogen Initiative highlights how humans have massively altered the natural flows of nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients.
January 15, 2013

Black carbon larger cause of climate change than previously assessed

Press release | Black carbon is the second largest man-made contributor to global warming and its influence on climate has been greatly underestimated, according to the first quantitative and comprehensive analysis of this issue.
October 31, 2012

Sustainable cities must look beyond city limits

Press release | City leaders aspiring to transform their cities into models of sustainability must look beyond city limits and include in their calculation the global flow of goods and materials into their realm, argue researchers in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences journal Ambio.
September 27, 2012

International coordination centre for ocean acidification

Press release | Major international symposium closes with launch of new international coordination centre and announcement of an X-Prize for Ocean Health.
March 28, 2012

Inclusive Wealth Report unveiled

Press release | To surmount sustainability hurdles societies need a new yardstick of national progress; reforms of corporate reporting and an overhaul of environmental institutions, according to researchers at the Planet Under Pressure conference.
March 28, 2012

State of the Planet Declaration

Press release | Recognizing the complexity and urgency of current challenges, researchers propose a new vision for science for global sustainability at major international conference
March 27, 2012

Cities expand by area equal to France, Germany and Spain combined in less than 20 years

Press release | Urbanization choices to be fundamental to environmental sustainability, say experts; Equivalent of a city of 1 million needed weekly given population growth trend; Four-day Planet Under Pressure Conference in London attracts 2,800 participants
March 26, 2012

State of the Planet

Press release | 2,800 experts meet at 4-day Planet under Pressure conference. Day 1 analysis of Earth’s condition kick-starts week-long review of vital signs, options, hurdles and how to move forward.
March 26, 2012

Science for Policy: Recommendations for Navigating the Anthropocene

Press release | International science community has published a series of Policy Briefs for the United Nations Rio+20 conference in June 2012.
March 25, 2012

“Welcome to the Anthropocene” film released

Press release | A visually spectacular animated film, Welcome to the Anthropocene, has been released on the eve of the major international science conference Planet Under Pressure.
December 16, 2011

Global emissions rebound to record levels after global financial crisis

Press release | Global carbon dioxide emissions increased by a record 5.9 per cent in 2010 following the dampening effect of the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), according to scientists working with the Global Carbon Project, co-sponsored by IGBP.
November 23, 2011

Governance experts warn U.N. overhaul required to govern Earth system

Press release | Reducing the risk of potential global environmental disaster requires a “constitutional moment” comparable in scale and importance to the reform of international governance that followed World War II, say experts preparing the largest scientific conference leading up to next June’s Rio+20 Earth Summit.
November 4, 2011

Downside of using markets to pay for public goods

Press release | Some payment mechanisms to support ecosystems services can be environmentally harmful, warn experts in the journal Science.
September 28, 2011

Sustainable development requires fundamental reform of the United Nations

Press release | Achieving genuine sustainable development will require restructuring of national and international institutions such as the United Nations and World Trade Organization, according to a series of policy briefs from the scientific community.
April 26, 2011

New Chair of Scientific Committee Appointed

Press release | The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor James PM Syvitski as the new Chairperson.
March 10, 2011

Planetary boundaries and the urgent need for societal transformations

Press release | IGBP, the International Council for Science and the International Human Dimensions Programme co-sponsored a side event at the UN's Rio +20 Prep Committee on 8 March 2011, United Nations, New York.
January 31, 2011

Policy summary published on controversial geoengineering scheme, ocean fertilization

Press release | Geoengineering schemes involving ocean fertilization to affect climate have a low chance of success, according to the first summary for policymakers on the issue.
September 1, 2010

Major global sustainability conference focusing on solutions announced

Press release | The UK has successfully bid to host a major international science conference in 2012. The London conference, Planet Under Pressure: new knowledge, new solutions, aims to attract 2500 of the world's leading thinkers on global-change research.
May 3, 2010

IGBP statement of support for IPCC

Press release | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's process for assessing climate change, its causes, its impacts and responses, is reliable.
December 8, 2009

IGBP Climate-Change Index

Press release | The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme launches the IGBP Climate-Change Index at the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen on 9 December (COP15).
December 4, 2009

Scientists at climate talks say major changes to the nitrogen cycle cannot be ignored

Press release | An international group of scientists say there is an immediate need for a global assessment of the nitrogen cycle and its impact on climate.
November 18, 2009

Economic crisis makes discernible dent in emissions growth

Press release | The global recession probably explains the modest 2% growth in carbon dioxide emissions in 2008 compared with 2007 according to the 2008 global carbon budget, published in the journal Nature Geoscience 17 November. Between 2000 and 2007, the average growth rate of emissions was 3.4% a year.
November 2, 2009

Developing countries must prepare for large-scale change (Joint IPCC/IGBP workshop)

Press release | Impact, adaptation and vulnerability Joint IPCC/IGBP workshop 4-6 November 2009 Brazil
August 26, 2009

Has northern-hemisphere pollution affected Australian rainfall?

Press release | New research announced at the international Water in a changing climate science conference in Melbourne 24-28 August, implicates pollution from Asia, Europe and North America as a contributor to recent Australian rainfall changes.
July 30, 2009

Open Science Conference: Analysis, Integration and Modelling of the Earth System (AIMES)

Press release | Earth System Science: Climate, Global Change and People Open Science Conference, Edinburgh, 10-13 May 2010 The AIMES Open Science Conference will present recent advances in the understanding of Earth-system dynamics and highlight new directions in analysing the interactions between humans and their environment. It is intended the conference will help build bridges between the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities, and between policy, assessment and research.
July 21, 2009

Call for proposals to host a major international global-change Open Science Conference in 2012

Press release | Planet Under Pressure: new knowledge, new solutions IGBP is seeking sponsors and a host city for its 2012 Open Science Conference, Planet Under Pressure: new knowledge, new solutions. The three-day science conference will attract around 2500 world-leading environmental-change scientists. It will be followed by a day dedicated to discussing the findings with policymakers, the public, and funders of environmental science. The deadline for applications is 30 October 2009.
March 10, 2009

New Science Directions and Activities Relevant to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Press release | Joint IPCC-WCRP-IGBP Workshop: New Science Directions and Activities Relevant to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
January 30, 2009

Ocean acidification is accelerating and severe damages are imminent

Press release | Urgent action is needed to limit damages to marine ecosystems, including coral reefs and fisheries, due to increasing ocean acidity, according to 155 of the world’s scientific experts who will release the Monaco Declaration this Friday.
November 24, 2008

Science, Social Solutions Key to Sustainable Land & Water Use in Egypt

Press release | Land degradation, over-irrigation and desertification in Egypt and other semi-arid areas of the Earth are adding further stresses to regions already under pressure from global environmental change, according to research presented at a workshop on “Sustainable Water and Land Management in Semi-Arid Regions”.
November 5, 2008

Solve economic and environmental crises at the same time

Press release | Top scientific meeting urges coordinated response
October 14, 2008

Ocean Acidification – The Other CO2 Problem

Press release | Meeting held in Monaco to present research on the status of the world's oceans.
September 8, 2008

Science paper examines role of aerosols in climate change

Press release | A group of scientists affiliated with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) have proposed a new framework to account more accurately for the effects of aerosols on precipitation in climate models.
May 9, 2008

Scientists agree to enhancing international collaboration towards global sustainability

Press release | In light of increasing global environmental problems related to climate change, international scientists today committed to an enhanced plan of international collaboration to pursue science that will help achieve sustainable development of common, global resources.
April 28, 2008

Meeting on Global Environmental Change to Attract Top Scientists

Press release | (Cape Town, South Africa) Global warming, ocean acidification, land degradation, water and food shortages: these are a few of the many symptoms exhibited by a planet under pressure from human activities.
September 11, 2007

Media Briefing: Science, policy and business sectors finding cooperative approaches to global environmental change

Press release | 17 September 2007, 17:00-17:30, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Lilla Frescativägen 4, Stockholm
September 4, 2007

Global Warming only one Symptom of Planet Earth Under Pressure

Press release | Scientists, policymakers and businesses to discuss coordinated response to global environmental change. (Stockholm, Sweden)
April 6, 2007

Latest IPCC Report Highlights Need for Integrated Climate/Human Behaviour Models

Press release | Adapting to the global climate change impacts outlined in the IPCC’s Working Group 2 Report, “Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”, will require new evaluation tools to help choose the best way forward, according to the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), an international network of environmental scientists.
February 2, 2007

Climate Change only one Symptom of a Stressed Planet Earth

Press release | In releasing its latest comprehensive report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) focuses an important spotlight on the current state of the Earth’s climate.
November 12, 2006

Scientists urge collaborative action to address effects of global environmental change

Press release | Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) press release.
November 11, 2006

ESSP launches project on the effects of global environmental change on human health

Press release | Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) press release.
November 11, 2006

Global Environmental Change Scientists Seek to Improve Links with Policy and Development Agendas

Press release | Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) press release.
November 10, 2006

New global analysis shows 400% increase in carbon dioxide emissions growth

Press release | Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) press release.

IGBP CLIMATE CHANGE INDEX

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IGBP closed at the end of 2015. This website is no longer updated.

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This final issue of the magazine takes stock of IGBP’s scientific and institutional accomplishments as well as its contributions to policy and capacity building. It features interviews of several past...
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