Seagrass ecosystems often co-occur with urbanized coastal regions, providing important filtration services that reduce human bacterial pathogens from coastal sources. This study examines whether such filtration function is transferred to food fish such as marine bivalves, and its global applicability.

Marine genetic resources are important reservoirs for biodiscovery compounds that can help address public and environmental health challenges. This study presents a database and analysis on the commercial use of marine genetic resources towards the sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Understanding the various and multiple trade-offs of land-use changes and cropland expansion can contribute to more sustainable policies. A study explores future scenarios of cropland expansion along with the trade-offs in agricultural production and markets, biodiversity and CO₂ emissions.

Direct recycling can facilitate the sustainable management of end-of-life spent cathodes, but is hindered by the harsh operation conditions required. An spontaneous lithiation strategy enables direct recycling of spent cathode material at ambient conditions, with clear economic and environmental benefits.

Native oyster reef ecosystems were decimated by human activities, with little known of their past extent. This study evaluates historical records to show that oyster reefs were once a dominant feature of European coastlines and provides perspectives for current management strategies.

The authors present a FeCl₃ cathode design that enables all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries with a favourable combination of low cost, improved safety and good performance.

Achieving European Green Deal targets may benefit the European Union ecologically but increase global environmental impacts. This study quantifies such external impacts and suggests ways to minimize them

Land-use change can lead to detrimental biodiversity impacts through the conversion of natural habitat to agricultural land. This study examines the association between biodiversity impacts from land-use change and global agri-food supply chains.

This study finds that residents in European cities prioritize urban sustainable development policies that address basic human needs such as the cost of living and poverty alleviation, while existing policies focus more on issues such as biodiversity and public transport. These discrepancies suggest that sustainability policies may lack democratic legitimacy.

Estimating losses and damages caused by climate change is central to developing equitable climate policy. Microdata surveys have the potential to expose losses and damages among smallholder farmers that may otherwise be overlooked.

A new start for multilateralism is what UN Member States are focusing on, but achieving it won’t be easy and won’t be enough to deliver sustainable development. Addressing the multifaceted root causes of discrimination, inequalities and injustice across scales should be the priority.

Continuing to produce nature-based credits using dubious accounting methodologies will yield limited carbon and biodiversity gains. Establishing scientific credibility unlocks the potential of credits to meaningfully contribute to targets of the Paris and Kunming-Montreal agreements.

The sustainability community is increasingly calling for transformation, but action to transform is too slow. Nature Sustainability and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation have convened an expert panel to address the issue and recommend a way forward.

Green production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) with a sunlight-driven or renewable-energy-powered electrochemical process provides a path to its decentralized production and sustainable end-use. Here, we discuss how to develop a fairer basis for performance evaluation of (photo)electrosynthesis of H₂O₂.

Photocatalytic water splitting could be used to sustainably produce hydrogen. To assess its performance, solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency is the most important metric. Here, we discuss the common problems in reporting this metric and propose the use of water displacement to accurately measure the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency.

The pervasive contamination of ecosystems with active pharmaceutical ingredients poses a serious threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services and public health. Urgent action is needed to design greener drugs that maintain efficacy but also minimize environmental impact.