Welcome to the Project Cosmos homepage. The project was launched by Carbon Brief in June 2026 following an 18-month research and development effort. The aim: to build the world’s largest database of climate change research. Containing more than 1.8 million unique publications linked by 40 million citation relationships, the Cosmos database represents the most complete and expansive mapping of human knowledge on climate change ever assembled. The articles and visuals below will guide you through how the Cosmos database was built, as well as all the subsequent analysis, including the Cosmos 500 rankings of most cited authors, publications and institutions.

Welcome to the Project Cosmos homepage. The project was launched by Carbon Brief in June 2026 following an 18-month research and development effort. The aim: to build the world’s…

Carbon Brief’s Project Cosmos is a major collaborative effort to build the world’s largest and most complete database of climate change research.

The Cosmos 500 ranking shows the most highly cited academics in Carbon Brief’s database, based on their citation score.

Carbon Brief has created the Cosmos 500 ranking for the most highly cited climate publications.

Explore the vast cosmos of academic literature and evidence that underpins humanity’s knowledge of climate change.

Analysis of Carbon Brief’s Cosmos database reveals the world’s leading “institutions” for climate research.