Research

Find out about work being done by researchers at the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute.

Main areas of focus

The Institute focuses on the following areas of research:

  • Framing decision-relevant research questions. We frame our questions in a way that informs policymakers and other stakeholders involved in real-world decision-making, while also looking at how climate change intersects with other priorities.
  • Understanding future climate change. We do this by focusing on the emergence of unusual temperatures and extreme weather events worldwide. This research takes into account the different types of climate that people have experienced historically in different locations around the world.
  • Quantifying the influence of climate change. Extreme event attribution attempts to identify what fraction of the economic losses associated with specific events like droughts, floods, and storms were attributable to human-induced climate change.
  • Developing warming-based climate policy. This involves more accurately accounting for the diverse ways that different climate forcings contribute to warming. It also involves developing policy frameworks and structures that allow this to be properly reflected in policy.

Explore our research

Satellite photo of landscape with small, blocky, brown shapes of towns, fields, and pastures surround the bright green swirls and whorls of the Mississippi River.

Understanding future climate change

We seek to understand future climate change by focusing on the emergence of unusual temperatures and extreme weather events in places where people live.
Run-down part of city in Vietnam at risk of rising sea level

Inequality of climate change

Research in this area examines the unequal impact of climate change on nations at different developmental stages.
Brown flood water surrounds an old stone building with half-submerged cars

Extreme event attribution

We examine extreme weather events to identify the proportion of economic losses that can be attributed to human-induced climate change.
Mirror-smooth lake at sunset with small boats in foreground and dark clouds and a prominent smokestack in the background

Climate science and policy

We frame research questions so they can inform policymakers and other stakeholders involved in real-world decision-making.
Brown cows feeding on dusty ground with blue sky above

Warming-based climate policy

See an overview of our work on warming-based climate policy.