Volume 7 Issue 3, March 2024

Earth Observation (EO) satellites have transformed understanding of the state and trajectories of Earth’s environment. Recent mushrooming of EO satellites and of resultant data that are stored, distributed and processed, often on the cloud, generate widespread environmental impacts that demand urgent consideration, particularly given that EO data outlive EO satellites.

The rapid launch of hundreds of thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit will significantly alter our view of the sky and raise concerns about the sustainability of Earth’s orbital space. A new framework for sustainable space development must balance technological advancement, protection of space environments and our capacity to explore the Universe.

The nitritation process, namely the biological conversion of ammonia to nitrite, is a pivotal approach in sustainable sewage management but remains challenging to implement in practice. Now a strategy shows remarkable efficiency in swiftly initiating and maintaining sewage nitritation, even under industrially relevant conditions.

Phase transitions are detrimental to the cyclability of layered oxide cathodes for next-generation sodium-ion batteries. Now, two complementary studies suggest principles on how to navigate through the vast compositional space for better electrochemical performance.

Although carboxylated cellulose nanofibres (C-CNFs) hold promise for numerous applications, current production methods are associated with environmental concerns. A type of deep eutectic solvent, comprising citric acid, choline chloride and water, has now been developed for the sustainable and scalable production of ultrafine and long C-CNFs.

Research on how to support human exploration and eventual habitation of outer space is advancing. However, while its aims are beyond our planet, space bioprocess engineering has practical sustainability applications here on Earth.

Risks in globally interconnected socio-environmental systems are complex and efforts to study them are incomplete. This Perspective argues that risks should be considered as both a product of these systems and a force that rewires them through a variety of mechanisms.

Efforts to protect and conserve the planet’s land and oceans should also guarantee that people can access them equitably. Comparing marine and terrestrial protected areas in the United States, a study shows different access patterns based on income and race.

Although air pollution may play a role in shaping suicide risk, the link has been difficult to estimate so far. This study quantifies the role of air quality improvements in the decline of suicide rates in China over the period 2013–2017, uncovering a causal link between particulate pollution and suicide.

Government spending for COVID-19 recovery could have enhanced society’s resilience to environmental shocks, but it is unclear whether this was adequately reflected in policies. A study now sheds light on this issue by applying a fiscal policy taxonomy for climate change adaptation and resilience to policies across different countries.

Optimal risk management involves maintaining formal and informal risk instruments, which is difficult under increasing climate risks. A study now investigates the issue and finds that policies cultivating moderate altruism and solidarity can help farmers better manage climate risks.

Rapid urbanization poses several challenges but can offer opportunities for cities to become more sustainable by, for example, reducing transport demand and its associated emissions. This study shows how this can be achieved and quantifies the co-benefits for climate, energy use, air quality and human health.

Biological ammonia-to-nitrite conversion (nitritation) in mainstream municipal wastewater is environmentally desirable but hard to stabilize. This study presents an effective loading rate switch strategy that enables stable nitritation in mainstream sewage.

Carboxylated cellulose nanofibres are materials with combined sustainability and desirable properties. Here the authors show a synthetic process allowing for scalable and green preparation of such materials.

For battery electrolytes, addressing their safety often leads to compromised electrochemical properties. Here, the electrolyte formulation is not only non-flammable but also supports excellent performance in both K-ion and Li-ion cells.

The authors manipulate two categories of cathodes for sodium-ion batteries for a rational design that combines high energy density with high power density and long cycling life.

The poor structural stability of cathode materials is responsible for the rapid capacity loss of sodium-ion batteries during cycling. This work addresses the instability by introducing vacancies into the transition metal layers and realize long-life pouch cells.

While the economic effects of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been studied extensively, this study examines how efforts to achieve balance across the SDGs affect subjective well-being within and across countries.