Get your Global and Planetary Change paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 13 August, 2026
Submitting to Global and Planetary Change goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Global and Planetary Change guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Global and Planetary Change. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Global and Planetary Change journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Global and Planetary Change guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Global and Planetary Change guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Global Planetary Change requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Unstructured. Maximum 250 words. Must state purpose of research, principal results, and major conclusions. Should be concise and factual, able to stand alone. Avoid references unless essential (cite author and year if included). Avoid non-standard abbreviations unless essential (define at first mention) |
| Main text | Organize sections for the chosen article type; no single overall word limit is stated in the accessible guide |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | 1 to 7 keywords required for indexing purposes. Should be written in English. Avoid multi-word keywords (using 'and' or 'of'). Use abbreviations only if firmly established in the field |
| References | Author-date style (Harvard-like). At submission, references can be in any consistent style or format. After acceptance at proof stage, the journal's reference style is applied: author-date citations in text (e.g., Allan, 2020; Jones and Smith, 2019; Brown et al., 2021), reference list arranged alphabetically then chronologically, journal names abbreviated per LTWA |
| Peer review | Single anonymized review (single-blind). Manuscripts initially assessed by editors for suitability, then typically sent to minimum of two reviewers for independent expert assessment of scientific quality |
| Submission | submit.elsevier.com/GLOPLACHA |
Read the Global and Planetary Change guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Global and Planetary Change in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Global Planetary Change papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Global and Planetary Change journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Global and Planetary Change guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.