NEWS

Nature Climate Change first issue live

Nature Climate Change publishes its first issue at www.nature.com/natureclimatechange. The new journal strives to synthesize interdisciplinary research, and research articles in the first issue range from atmospheric science to psychology. Nature Climate Change also provides context for a broad audience through features and analysis. The inaugural issue tackles the need for transparency in climate change research, and the dual importance of interdisciplinary collaborations and clarifying climate impacts.

“Multiple sources of scientific evidence show that the climate is changing and that human activity has played a significant role in that over the past few decades”, says Olive Heffernan, Chief Editor of Nature Climate Change. “While the consequences of climate change are potentially very serious, much work remains to determine the exact impacts and implications for society. Efforts to constrain, clarify and communicate those uncertainties will be a hallmark of Nature Climate Change.”

Nature Climate Change publishes top-tier original research on climate change, its impacts and implications for the economy, policy and the world at large. Much of the research in the first issue focuses on impacts; from the impacts of the aviation industry on the global climate, to the impacts of climate change on agriculture, health and economics. The journal is multidisciplinary and includes socio-economic research in its scope. The first Nature Climate Change articles have already attracted media coverage including The Daily Telegraph, The Economist, Bloomberg and The Australian.

Dr Heffernan leads an in-house editorial team of three: Senior Editor Dr Jo Thorpe; Senior Editor Dr Monica Contestabile; and Associate Editor Dr Alistair Brown. In addition to its team of editors, Nature Climate Change has an External Advisory Panel, to provide advice on submissions in the areas of social sciences, policy and economics through the journal's launch period.

The journal readership will range from researchers to industry executives, government officials, and policy makers. To put basic research into context for this broad audience, Nature Climate Change offers more original reporting, opinion and analysis than its sister Nature research titles. In the April issue, two features focus on transparency in climate change research. One feature reports on ongoing efforts to improve access to climate data, and the other on the scenario development underway for the next IPCC assessment.

“We hope that Nature Climate Change will draw overdue attention to the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations in advancing climate research,” says Heffernan. A regular section ‘Beyond Boundaries’, will draw on lessons to be learnt from researchers who are collaborating with experts from other fields.

The journal has already attracted substantial interest from readers. Over 9000 people applied for 5000 free controlled circulation personal subscriptions, and a number of institutions have purchased site license access ahead of the journal’s launch.