Analyses

The renewable polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF) has potential to replace the fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate, but the energy-intensive production hinders wider adoption. This study shows that PEF from industrial CO₂ emissions and non-food biomass can save 40.5% emissions and energy use.

A reliable charging infrastructure is critical to wider adoption of electric cars. With large-scale social data and machine intelligence, this study shows the importance of the quality, not just the quantity, of charging stations to consumers, suggesting policy design should include consumer data.

While political interference with science is not new, this analysis of Australia’s largest coal mine being approved despite and over the objections of scientific managers provides a thorough case study in how environmental considerations are being ignored.

An analysis reveals only 17 out of 65 financiers require biodiversity impact mitigation measures, and overall the initiative falls short of international best practices

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) but it needs additional power that increases water use for plant cooling. This study models the impacts of retrofitting CFPPs with CCS on water resources globally and finds areas at risk of water scarcity.

The world keeps urbanizing. This study finds that since 1985 global urban lands have expanded four times faster than previously recognized and faster than population is growing.

Understanding patterns of energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector can help to improve the sustainability of transportation. This study analyses the most important determinants of energy and GHG intensities for light-duty vehicles, buses, railroads and aircraft.

Conservation agriculture prioritizes soil health and diverse cropping systems. This meta-analysis finds multiple benefits, including for water conservation and profitability, from conservation-agriculture practices in South Asia.

The sustainability of wild fisheries is limited by the capture of non-target species. This study estimates that such ‘bycatch’ from US fisheries totalled 1.93 million tonnes in 2010–2015, with a 10.5% discard rate. Despite considerable improvements, certain longline, trawl and gillnet fisheries have persistent bycatch issues.

Diverse strategies are needed to mitigate climate change. This study finds that storing carbon in soils represents 25% of land-based potential, of which 60% must come from rebuilding depleted carbon stores.

CO₂ mineralization and utilization via alkaline solid wastes shows promise for both stabilizing solid waste and tackling climate change, but evidence of its actual CO₂ reduction potential is scant. This study estimates that CO₂ mineralization and utilization could lead to a 12.5% global reduction of CO₂ emissions.

In India, a farming approach that minimizes purchasing agrochemicals is expanding. An assessment of this approach shows that it reduces soil degradation and provides moderate yields.

The recent shift in the United States from coal to natural gas for electric power has reduced the carbon dioxide emissions intensity of electric power production, but the other pollution-related impacts of this shift are not yet known. This study finds that, between 2005 and 2016, decommissioning coal-fired plants in the continental US saved an estimated 26,610 lives and 570 million bushels of corn, soybeans and wheat in their vicinities and also changed regional climate.

Pesticides overuse has led to evolution of resistance but the associated crop yield losses or economic costs at large scale are not known. This study estimates the annual cost of resistance in England for black-grass and calls for national-scale planning to address the problem.

Flooding is the costliest natural disaster. Focusing on the United States, this analysis finds that by 2070 avoided damages exceed land acquisition costs for more than one-third of unprotected natural lands in the 100-year floodplain.

Soil erosion threatens food production and ecosystems. This study finds that soil erosion rates change significantly at national borders, probably reflecting agricultural characteristics that vary among countries.

Adequate methods are needed to study the connections among food consumption and production, energy and water, and environmental impacts. This Analysis presents a set of model-based scenarios and associated Sankey diagrams to facilitate this kind of analysis and formulate response strategies.

Knowing how and why households stop using solid-fuel stoves after adopting clean fuels can inform policies for energy transitions. This study shows that in China over one-third and one-fifth of participants suspended use of solid fuel for cooking and heating, respectively, during the past 20 years.

During the 2004–16 shale-gas development in the Appalachian basin, United States, premature mortality from lower air quality and employment followed a boom-and-bust cycle, whereas climate impacts will persist for generations beyond the activity.

Cities not only develop their transit networks, but are shaped by them in return. This study teases out the effects of public transportation, finding that there is a scale effect for urban areas to benefit from transit investment.