Our Research library helps you find the evidence behind a climate claim. We explain reports in plain language and link you back to the organisations that produced them. We are a guide to the source, so please cite the original report when you use its findings.
Start with the original
For report summaries and Key facts, we read the original report or its publisher’s report page. We use original sources only for these pages, rather than borrowing figures from news coverage, social posts or other summaries. We check that we are using the right edition and record its publication details. If we cannot trace a number to a page in the original, we leave it out.
Keep the context attached
A number needs its report, year and page. It also needs a place, time period, unit and comparison where those affect its meaning. We retain uncertainty ranges and the report’s confidence wording. We distinguish observations from projections, estimates from spending, and annual figures from long-term trends.
Global and local findings stay separate. A global temperature average is not a reading for a city in Pakistan. A national flood-cost estimate does not describe every district. Where a report offers no regional findings, we say so.
Show when we checked
Every page shows when we last checked it against its sources. For annual reports, we check the publisher for a new edition before updating the summary. We review the numbers, citations and links together, then add a dated note explaining what changed. An expected publication month is an estimate unless the publisher has confirmed it.
Correct mistakes openly
If we find a factual mistake, we correct it and add a dated note at the bottom of the page. The note explains the error and the correction, so readers can understand the change. To report a problem, email [email protected] with the page, disputed sentence and original source, if you have it.
Our editorial principles explain the wider standards behind our work.