The Climate Change Challenge: the global research landscape

RELX, December 2015

Published to coincide with CoP21 in Paris 2015, the supplement to the Sustainability Science in a global landscape analyses the top trends in a shifting research landscape in relation to climate change. Emerging economies are rapidly increasing research output associated with the development of new technologies in climate change mitigation – such as renewable energy and smart grids. In recent years, China’s output for research relating to desalination has grown dramatically, and it is now the most prolific country for such research.

Science, technology and innovation are critical to achieve SDG 13 Climate action and to be able to integrate climate change measures into national policies strategies and planning (target 13.2). Understanding the research landscape of sustainability science plays an important role: the US is the biggest contributor to sustainability science output, accounting for a third of all publications but it is countries like India and China who are changing the research landscape.