Climate change and well-being: Science academies publish recommendations for G20 summit
Reports and Proceedings
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-Nov-2025 21:11 ET (7-Nov-2025 02:11 GMT/UTC)
Ahead of the G20 summit in Johannesburg/South Africa, on 22 and 23 November 2025, the science academies of the G20 countries, including the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, have issued science-based recommendations developed in the Science20 process. The joint statement “Climate Change and Well-Being”, recommends measures to address the consequences of climate change and to adapt in the areas of health, ecology and technology.
A study by researchers from the UK, Ghana and the USA - and led by the University of Plymouth (UK) used thermal imaging technology and other sensors to measure the leaf temperatures found at CO2 levels forecast to occur in 2050. It found that temperatures within the forest canopies rose by around 1.3°C as a direct consequence of increases in CO2 – from an average of 21.5°C under current conditions to 22.8°C at the predicted 2050 CO2 levels. They believe that as well as having a direct impact on leaf pore structure, it could impact trees’ ability to transmit water back into the environment, which would have a knock-on effect on the water cycle globally.