Analyses

Sustainability has been added as a ‘pillar’ of the Olympic movement, but this analysis examines each Summer and Winter Games since 1992 to find that the performance of host cities across a range of indicators has been declining over time.

Expanding energy infrastructure has been vital to China’s development plans, but has had negative consequences. This study finds that in 2017 the level of embodied greenhouse gas emissions from the expansion of China’s power transmission infrastructure increased by more than 7.3 times that in 1990.

Most of the world’s farms are small. This study finds that smaller farms have higher yields and biodiversity than larger ones but little difference in greenhouse gas emissions and profits.

Fossil fuel infrastructure impacts land use. This study estimates the present value from restoring lands with non-producing gas wells at US$21 billion at a restoration cost of US$7 billion. Deciduous forests, grasslands and chaparral had especially high net benefits.

As cannabis production becomes legalized and legitimized, its production will likely change and expand with attendant environmental impacts. This life cycle analysis of energy and material costs across the United States focuses on indoor cannabis growing operations.

The Sulitest, developed to gauge sustainability knowledge, has been given to thousands of people worldwide. This analysis evaluates the test and its role as a diagnostic tool for sustainability education.

This meta-analysis of over 2,400 papers tracks the influence of older publications that have ‘echoed’ through the decades, cited in countless publications and creating a potentially false confirmation bias.

Bioenergy from grasses is a key option to mitigate climate change. This study finds that recently abandoned cropland could help meet 11–68% of today’s bioenergy demand.

Wise management is critical to sustaining fisheries. This study finds that rebuilding plans, ratification of international agreements and harvest control rules yield strong benefits and that these are cumulative.

A study of 177 forest user groups shows that these are more likely to self-organize to monitor rule compliance for forest management when the groups are larger, they design the rules and they are located either close to or far from markets.

Banning the sale of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads to protect the environment requires understanding the lifetime environmental impacts of potential substitutes. By comparing the environmental performance of alternatives, this study finds viable substitutes and those with adverse effects.

An analysis of 177 studies and expert opinions about instruments for ocean protection shows that a combination of tools is needed to achieve all of the ocean SDG targets.

An analysis of spatially explicit historical data shows notable regional differences in the benefits in reduced emissions from integrating renewable energy across the United States.

The impacts of wildfires in the western United States have been increasing for decades. Combining physical, epidemiological and economic models, this study finds that the economic damage of California wildfires in 2018 was roughly 1.5% of California’s annual gross domestic product.

Perovskite solar cells could be a game-changing energy technology. However, the solvents involved during fabrication pose sustainability concerns. Here, the authors provide an analysis of human health toxicity and environmental implications of handling solvents, recommending dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the green choice for large-scale production.

A meta-analysis of 117 studies to determine the impacts of land tenure security on socio-environmental outcomes and sustainable development.

Oysters clean nutrient-polluted waters, but their populations have crashed. This study synthesizes research on oyster impacts and finds that they help remove excess nitrogen and promote nutrient recycling without contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions.

Continued carbon-intensive development is unsustainable. This study assesses how cloudiness and weather variability, enhanced by climate change, will affect photovoltaic output, finding that conditions are likely to worsen by mid-century over the Arabian Peninsula while improving over southern Europe.

A discourse analysis across time shows how reformist and transformative proponents have been competing over the purpose of biodiversity offsetting, which requires stronger institutional commitments to advance.

Big data and mobile technology are considered a growing boon for small-scale farmers. This study finds that only 24–37% of farms of <1 ha are currently served by third generation (3G) or 4G services, compared to 74–80% of farms of >200 ha, and that regions with poor yields and low food security have poor service coverage.