New beginnings

Nature Reports Climate Change
Published online: 5 May 2010
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Olive Heffernan
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The philosopher Seneca said that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. On 5 May, once this issue goes live and a little more than three years after its launch, Nature Reports Climate Change will close. In practical terms, that means that the site will no longer be updated, but the archived content will still be freely available online. Although an ending of sorts, the closure of Nature Reports Climate Change is necessary to facilitate what will ultimately be a much larger effort by Nature Publishing Group to cover climate change.

In April 2011, we will launch Nature Climate Change, a full-fledged journal, whose mission will be to publish original research on climate change and its impacts, as well as to place such change in a wider social and political context. This new addition to the Nature family of journals is exciting for a number of reasons. As an interdisciplinary publication, Nature Climate Change will be the first Nature-branded title to publish research from social scientists. This marks an exciting new venture for us, but also a challenge in reaching out to a new community.

In addition to publishing the very best research from the natural and social sciences,Nature Climate Change will take forward the features, commentary, analysis and reviews that Nature Reports Climate Change has become known for over the past three years. Blending high-quality original research and opinion from international experts with unique reporting from renowned journalists, Nature Climate Change will set itself apart from existing climate research journals, enabling it to reach out beyond the confines of academia to decision-makers and other stakeholders.

Although April 2011 is some time away, launching a journal is a protracted process, and already the wheels are in motion to ensure that it happens on schedule. So, as the Editor-in-Chief of the new journal, it is with a mixture of anticipation and relief that I sign off on the last issue of Nature Reports Climate Change. Since its inception, the site has provided a home for engaging content from a host of thought-provoking authors and climate change experts. And Nature Publishing Group has done a wonderful service to society in making this content freely available to all. Nature Reports Climate Change has been the obvious precursor to what will be a bigger, better beast.

Our regular readers can follow the journal's launch on our Climate Feedback blog.Climate Feedback will continue to be a mainstay of discussions on climate science in the world at large, but will also become a vehicle for informing a wider audience of the new insights, analysis and opinion published in the subscription-based journal.

Finally, sincere thanks to those who have followed and contributed to Nature Reports Climate Change since its launch in 2007. We hope that you share our excitement about our new venture, and we welcome your thoughts and suggestions for its evolution.