Articles

The authors show a reductive interlayer structure that renders semi-transparent solar cells with a favourable combination of high efficiency and improved operational stability. When integrated in greenhouses, plant growth is comparable to that in the traditional glass-roof mode.

Coastal deltas around the world have been losing land and disagreement on the extent of anthropogenic causes is rife. A balanced sediment budget for the Mississippi River Delta shows that the impact of levees and resource extraction have been the dominant drivers of land loss within Barataria Basin.

Sustaining marine biodiversity and socio-ecological systems requires strategic planning. This study finds that a bioregional planning approach can protect representative environments in the Southern Ocean given the political will to iteratively adapt existing and proposed Marine Protected Areas.

Biodegradation of polyesters such as polylactic acid (PLA), which could serve as a carbon source for value-added chemicals, leads to CO₂ emissions. Here the authors develop a two-step catalytic process to convert PLA into methyl methacrylate, a key building-block molecule, for sustainable valorization of waste PLA.

A full factorial experiment in a state-owned industrial oil palm plantation in Indonesia evaluates whether reduced management via reduced fertilization rates and mechanical weeding can decrease the negative impacts on ecosystem functions and biodiversity while maintaining profitability of the plantation.

The impacts on soil degradation of the massive land-use conversion of South American Pampa grasslands to agriculture are not well documented. This study estimates, over the period 1982–2019, the impacts of such conversion on the sediment cascade and how soil and water resources are affected as a result.

Intensifying agriculture can, in theory, spare nature from agricultural expansion. This study finds that intensification is not sparing tropical dry forests generally, but is in areas with widespread Indigenous land stewardship.

Agriculture is the largest threat to tropical ecosystems. This study finds that setting aside land for nature in targeted fashion, especially alongside rivers, can increase biodiversity and ecosystem services without reducing the net area cultivated.

Afforestation can effectively remove CO₂ but is constrained by the availability of suitable land and water resources. This study shows the large potential of afforestation for CO₂ sequestration in arid areas globally, using renewable electricity, particularly from solar photovoltaics, to power desalination plants.

Decarbonizing the aviation sector is difficult given travel patterns and technical and economic constraints. Through nine holistic scenarios towards net-zero emissions from aviation by 2050, this study can inform investments and priorities for innovation to achieve a more sustainable aviation sector.

Electrochromism provides a means to control transmittance of light for increased energy efficiency of buildings. Here the aqueous electrochromic design features tunable emissivity and allows for all-season radiative thermoregulation.

The washing processes of synthetic textiles have become one of the main sources of microplastic pollution in the oceans. Here the authors show the rational design of polydimethylsiloxane-coated nylon that releases substantially less microplastic fibres in both dry and wet conditions.

Diversified renewable energy sources can enable the sustainable operation of multisector resource systems. An artificial intelligence-assisted multi-objective design framework, applied in Ghana, explores optimized management and investment strategies balancing hydropower, bioenergy, solar and wind energies, and their impacts.

Seaweed farming could reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint, but its potential is not well-explored yet. This study shows how globally extended aquaculture can reduce terrestrial crops demand and greenhouse gas emissions while providing a substitute or supplement for food, animal feeds and fuel.

The effects of expanding electric vehicle charging stations on housing values are unknown. This study fills the gap with data for California and finds that properties near charging stations show a higher price, while traffic slightly increases and particulate matter (PM_2.5) emissions decrease.

Understanding global forces impacting forests is increasingly vital. This study finds that human factors follow climate as the most important factors affecting forest structure globally and are the dominant factor regionally, even in many protected areas and so-called intact forest landscapes.

Managing landscapes sustainably is challenging given the competing interests of different stakeholder groups. By combining broad ecological data with information on the ecosystem service priorities of multiple stakeholder groups, this study provides a tool to quantify the social impact of land-use changes.

The stability of energy supply chains is an increasingly urgent global problem. Liquefied natural gas exported from Qatar is seen by some as a potential solution. However, the country’s infrastructure is highly vulnerable to oil spills in the Persian Gulf with the potential to further upset global gas supplies.

Zinc batteries are receiving growing attention due to their sustainability merits not shared by lithium-ion technologies. Here the aqueous electrolyte design features unique solvation structures that render Zn–air pouch cell excellent cycling stability in a wide temperature range from −60 to 80 °C.

Materials popular for insulation and noise reduction are typically derived from petroleum or minerals or have other environmental costs. This study reports a scalable material for thermal insulation and noise reduction derived from treated wood.