Increasing the Ni content to replace Co can increase the capacity and sustainability of cathode for batteries but leads to performance degradation issues. Here the authors address the structural and oxygen instabilities of Ni-rich cathodes by doping with tellurium.

The net-zero transition will bring co-benefits to various sectors but also potential trade-offs that could undermine sustainable development efforts. A study shows that in China, the co-benefits from the transition alone will not secure a sustainable energy–food–water–air quality system.

Grazing lands make important contributions to society, including meat and milk, but there are sustainability limits to their use for production. This study explores milk and meat production from grazing ruminants within biodiversity limits.

Past human land modification in the Amazon has resulted in nutrient- and carbon-rich soil deposits of great cultural and environmental value. A new remote-sensing and machine-learning approach reveals the extent of Amazonian dark earth and its potentially substantial carbon reservoir.

Bees are important components of sustainable agriculture through their pollination services, however, they are susceptible to pesticide toxicity. This study presents an ingestible hydrogel microparticle technology that can lessen the detrimental effects of toxicity from the imidacloprid pesticide.

Various preventive measures are used to avoid non-target species or bycatch in fishing operations, but the success of such measures is not well understood. This study evaluates the effects of technical mitigation measures on both vulnerable marine fauna bycatch and target catch.

Combined food–energy production systems can help improve resource-use efficiency, but the extent to which such systems contribute to sustainable development has not yet been fully explored. This study evaluates this system in double-cropped maize ethanol production in Brazil.

Cellulose is the most abundant renewable biopolymer resource in nature. Here the authors convert cellulose to an electrolyte through molecular engineering showing good performance in solid-state Li-ion batteries.

A wealth of critical minerals has driven widespread artisanal mining in the Congo Basin, bringing with it the risk of deforestation. Statistical analysis of remote-sensing data reveals that mining-associated deforestation is dominated by indirect factors, land-use change to support mining communities, rather than the direct impacts of the onset of mining.

Climate change policy and global change studies rely on maps that classify the world into different ecological zones. This study updates current approaches to ecological zoning of the world to ensure that consistent data are provided for such sustainability-related policy and studies.

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.

Transitioning to a more sustainable economic system hinges on creating jobs in support of greener activities, with challenges for incumbent workers. A suite of articles highlights the need for more sustainable jobs and how to overcome the associated research gaps and political obstacles.