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The rapid increase in plastics waste is worrying, but approaching sufficiency in a broader sense can tackle much more than plastic waste streams only, argues Sylvia Lorek.

When strategizing the design of sustainable polymers, the timescale must be an essential dimension, that is, even for bio-based and/or biodegradable plastics their resource utilization should not outpace resource regeneration, argues Eugene Chen.

Pairing a cobalt-free cathode with an Earth-abundant SiO_x anode is favourable from a sustainability perspective. Here the electrolyte design allows for such a combination as well as exciting battery performance.

Solar-driven biomanufacturing using semiconductor biohybrids has the potential to achieve sustainable chemical production, but it is challenging to scale up. Here, the authors present a strategy to achieve scalable solar-driven waste-to-chemical conversion using wastewater-derived biohybrids.

Tools to promote more environmentally friendly behaviours increasingly include nudges but evidence about their effectiveness is mixed. Using an online experiment, this study tests whether reflective strategies increase the effectiveness of nudges in promoting more sustainable diets.

Biodiversity protection indicators are important to assess progress towards sustainable development goals. Using mountain ecosystems as an example, this study compared two biodiversity protection reporting metrics varying in their underlying methods and applied at different spatial scales.

Climate change-induced sea-level rise and coastal extremes pose serious threats to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This study provides a coastal flood risk assessment for SIDS globally and reveals the need for timely adaptation.

Catalytic upcycling of waste plastics has multiple benefits from a sustainability perspective, but available processes struggle with chlorine-containing feedstocks. Here the authors propose a strategy capable to upcycle chlorine-containing plastic wastes to valuable chemicals.

Environmental impact assessments are often blamed for delays in resource management, but this analysis finds that EIAs contribute a small fraction of time to implement forest management relative to other parts of the process.

Land degradation threatens livelihoods with the potential to displace vulnerable groups, yet its impacts on migration are poorly understood as environmental migration research mainly focuses on the impacts of climate change on migration. We argue that addressing this gap is vital as land degradation poses risks for sustainability.

Humans and mangroves adapt to conditions arising from subsidence and relative sea-level rise. Quantifying adaptation responses provides an innovative and cost-effective means of characterizing spatial variation in subsidence and relative sea-level rise and delivers critical information for coastal planning.

Rural coastal communities depend on natural ecosystems, such as mangrove forests and wetlands, for protection against local sea level rise. Mangroves prove relatively resilient to sea level rise; however, landward shoreline retreat persists, forcing rural communities from coastal settlements.

Heatwaves are more frequent and lead to considerable suffering, especially among the poorest and most disadvantaged people. This Perspective discusses the concept of systemic cooling poverty with the aim of informing policy and practice to support vulnerable groups.

Media attention to the disastrous consequences of this summer’s wildfires has been at a record high. Now the world should wake up to the urgent need to restore burnt sites.

Principles underpinning the 2030 Agenda — indivisibility, integration and universality — can safeguard against inaction or unsustainable practices but have not yet come into effect. We propose measures to strengthen alignment with them as the world gears up to accelerate implementation at the 2023 SDG Summit.

Siloed exploitation, management and planning of the oceans have resulted in escalating damage to ocean biodiversity and conflicts among users. A study now provides a set of principles to ensure participation and inclusion of all rights-holders and stakeholders towards transformative ocean governance to enable sustainability.

Contemporary plastics upcycling methods rely on the use of hydrogen and solvents, which make the process not environmentally friendly. Now a solvent- and hydrogen-free strategy can convert high-density polyethylene into separable hydrocarbons with high efficiency.

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the need to transform governance for the world to develop sustainably. Using a mixed method approach, this study presents 13 principles for transformative ocean governance that can help turn ocean-use practices into more sustainable ones.