News & Comment

Precision farming enabled by big data and gene-editing technologies are accelerating progress toward increasing nitrogen-use efficiency. However, farmer engagement, public–private partnerships and sound public policies are critical to harness the potential of such technologies to reduce hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.

The UN General Assembly will meet later this month at the UN headquarters in New York to adopt a political declaration pledging to accelerate efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Transnational environmental crime has become the largest financial driver of social conflict, with severe implications for peace and security. Sustainable-development frameworks need to overtly recognize and mitigate the risks posed by transnational environmental crime to environmental security.

Research coupling nutrition and environmental concerns is critical but should increasingly look at ways to integrate insights from psychology.

Leaders of sustainability research organizations need to provide an environment where interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science flourish. Developing the necessary leadership skills and attributes requires new, targeted training programmes.

Car bans could contribute to both climate change and air-quality goals. However, most car bans announced to date lack enforcement mechanisms and are therefore not bans at all. Here, we provide recommendations to design car bans as a more-effective policy tool for sustainability.

More effective ways of connecting research programmes and initiatives on the ground will amplify the impact of many sustainability scholars and practitioners around the world.