Since 196 Parties to the Paris Agreement committed to limiting global warming to well below 2°C, achieving these goals requires dramatically accelerated action. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 indicates that despite new climate pledges, the world remains off target, with greenhouse gas emissions reaching a record 57.7 GtCO2e in 2024. To align with a 1.5°C pathway and minimize temperature overshoot, global emissions must now fall by 40% by 2030 and 55% by 2035 relative to 2019 levels.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 indicates nations must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 and 57% by 2035. However, warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions (WIE) from terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems remain a critical blind spot in climate science and policy, affecting estimates of the remaining carbon budget and Earth system stability assumptions.
Coastal (salt marshes and mangroves) and terrestrial ecosystems (grasslands, shrublands and forests), represent critical potential nature-based solutions addressing both climate adaptation and mitigation at regional scales. These ecosystems provide essential adaptation services through coastal protection, erosion control, and flood mitigation, while delivering significant mitigation benefits through carbon sequestration (mangroves storing up to 1,000 tC ha-1). However, understanding warming-induced feedbacks from these systems is essential for accurate climate projections and policy effectiveness.
By bridging the gap between ecosystem management and climate feedback science, we invite interdisciplinary studies using experimental, observational, and modeling techniques. We particularly welcome research on: (1) regional climate adaptation and mitigation through coastal and terrestrial ecosystems; (2) mechanisms of warming-induced emissions from soils, vegetation, and marine interfaces.; (3) carbon sequestration potential and uncertainties; (4) earth system stability, including the impacts of wildfires and permafrost thaw on policy; and (5) integrated monitoring and co-benefits assessment. We invite experimental, observational, and modeling approaches to reduce uncertainties in ecosystem-climate interactions and better inform climate policy and mitigation activities for maintaining climate stability.