News & Views in 2023

Human changes to freshwater flows affect marine ecosystems, but such impacts are rarely considered in development plans involving dam building and water abstraction from rivers. Now research shows how approaches that integrate flow management and marine fisheries can improve both freshwater and coastal ecosystem sustainability.

Quantifications of the impacts of sea-level rise in small island states are urgently needed. Focusing on flooding from sea-level rise, a study now estimates the impacts in terms of cost, land loss and population exposure across all small islands worldwide.

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.

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.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical produced in large quantities for use primarily in the manufacturing of plastics. However, its adverse effects on human health are driving the development of safer and more sustainable alternatives. Now, a synthetic route enables such an alternative, starting from renewable lignin biomass.

Addressing the global water crisis requires technologies suited to harvest alternative sources of freshwater. Now, a bifunctional fog harvester offers a promising avenue for concurrent water collection and decontamination.

Despite being one of the most managed resources on earth, water availability and access can be the subject of illegal trade. These markets and their governance need research as water becomes scarcer.

Aromatic compounds have broad applications in our daily life, but their production currently relies heavily on fossil resources. Now, a strategy enables synthesis of benzenoid aromatics from bioderived feedstock, paving the way to the more sustainable production of aromatics.

Closed-loop recycling of plastics is a key technology for a sustainable future. Researchers have now created biorenewable plastics that outperform fossil-based analogues and meet criteria for circularity.

Lead-halide perovskites could revolutionize the provision of low-cost solar energy but are limited by their neurotoxic lead content, which can readily dissolve in water. A supramolecular complex has now been developed to suppress lead release.

The Rotterdam Convention helps ensure that international trade of harmful chemicals is transparent, and it gives parties the right to refuse imports of specific substances. Now a study shows that illegal trade of chemicals listed under the Rotterdam Convention is ongoing alongside legal trade.

The upcycling of plastic wastes to realize plastics circularity is obstructed by the presence of chlorine impurities. Now a conversion strategy addresses this problem and paves the way to upcycle chlorine-contaminated plastic wastes.

Adopting ‘climate-smart’ agricultural practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in soils can make an important contribution to climate change mitigation. But if crop productivity suffers as a result, other farmers may compensate by expanding cropland elsewhere, which could offset some carbon savings.

Many coral reefs suffer from the effects of overfishing, which threatens biodiversity and erodes human livelihoods. A study now reveals where fished reefs boost their total productivity, providing a means of resilience.

A bold study now combines rigorous ethical criteria to calculate national obligations based on each country’s level of ‘overshoot’ in appropriation of the atmosphere’s capacity to absorb carbon emissions. The findings suggest that a massive debt is owed.

Restoring coastal vegetated habitats can remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it as organic matter in sediments. A study now shows that these habitats also support seawater to store more carbon, and for longer, in its dissolved inorganic form.

Curbside recycling is costly and performs poorly on expected environmental and economic outcomes. This raises the question of whether curbside recycling should endure or be eliminated to allow alternative services to flourish.

Conservation basic income provides a model that could improve the well-being of people and nature, but more research is needed on the environmental efficacy and social equitability.

Reducing greenhouse gases can benefit air quality and health overall, but the magnitude and distribution of these benefits remain uncertain. Now a study shows that while air quality gains from carbon policies are widespread, some regions could see pollution increases.