Analyses in 2023

The agricultural production of food comes with substantial greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on the environment. Dietary fats, a staple of human diet, might be produced chemosynthetically with a fraction of the detrimental effects on the environment.

While most conservation efforts rightfully focus on the percentage of protected land, this paper analyses how the size and complexity of protected area boundaries affects the remoteness of internal areas and the contiguity of protected natural ecosystems

Illegal logging in the Brazilian Amazon exacerbates existing degradation and pressures, but has been difficult to measure. This paper identifies the risk of entry points for illegally logged forests into formal supply chains to quantify how widespread this issue may be.

Where to invest to help transform current livestock systems towards sustainability and climate resilience is currently unclear. This study identifies priority locations for investments supporting climate change adaptation and mitigation across 132 low- and middle-income countries, at mid- and low latitudes.

Fertilizer supply is highly sensitive to international disruptions. Geospatially differentiated strategies, including integrated inorganic and organic management to N-deficient regions, can bolster global food security

Sourcing rare earth elements (REEs) from unconventional feedstocks has substantial environmental and societal–economic benefits. Here the authors develop tools to evaluate the economic viability of unconventional REE feedstocks to facilitate the implementation of a sustainable REE supply.

A global meta-analysis examines concurrent soil organic carbon (SOC) and yield responses—including their direct connection—to cover cropping and suggests that targeting cover crops on low-carbon soils can lead to direct yield benefits from SOC increases.

Increasing the reach of biodiversity conservation requires addressing the material needs of individuals and communities in and around protected areas. This analysis provides a comprehensive global projection for a conservation basic income.

The impacts of biological invasions may be unevenly distributed globally, with a few regions bearing most of the cost. This study identifies cost distributions of invasions among origin and recipient countries and continents, and determines socio-economic and environmental predictors of cost dynamics.

China’s power generation is still based on a centrally planned operation (CPO) as market reforms are slow. This study finds that continuing to rely on the CPO has led to the accumulation of substantial greenhouse gas emissions, and reveals the underlying mechanisms driving emissions.

A global analysis of income inequality and flood disasters in middle- and high-income countries between 1990 and 2018 shows that unequal countries tend to suffer higher flood fatalities.

School buses provide crucial transport for millions of children across the United States, but this analysis finds that the diesel exhaust from older buses is impacting their health and that updating the bus fleet nationwide could lead to 1.3 million additional student days of attendance.

Global initiatives to expand protected areas focus on controlling ‘above ground’ impacts such as land use, overlooking the potential human impacts on protected areas through groundwater flow. This study analyses the potential extent of these impacts by mapping groundwatersheds.

Despite the increasing importance of local and regional research for conservation efforts worldwide, research published in languages other than English is routinely ignored by global assessments. This study examines how such research is used and cited at national levels even though it is overlooked internationally

Solutions that can support multiple sustainability goals related to clean energy, and resource use efficiency, will be crucial in the near future. The study estimates the potential of floating solar panels on reservoirs globally to generate renewable energy, reduce water losses and conserve land.

The sustainability of the net-zero circular strategies of plastics has not been previously examined on a planetary scale. Linking a bottom-up model for the production and end-of-life treatment of plastics to the planetary boundaries framework, this study shows the need to scale up recycling and reconsider how we produce and use plastics.

The military actions in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia have far-reaching environmental consequences, especially with regard to water management. A study presents data showing the severe impacts on water resources, sanitation and infrastructure during the first three months of the war.

Biodiversity conservation is critical for promoting ecosystem services and human well-being, but current conservation efforts fail to protect most high priority zones. A mix of land-sparing and land-sharing is needed to safeguard critical ecosystems in India and across the Global South.

Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation are not comprehensively addressing the climate–biodiversity–society nexus, limiting their capacity to promote urban transformation. However, notable transformative examples of urban nature-based solutions do exist, especially in the Global South.

The global economy delivers benefits but affects the environment. A study finds that over the period 1995–2019 the environmental pressures and impacts of EU consumption of goods and services were outsourced to non-EU countries, while the benefits stayed within the EU but were not evenly distributed.