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The protection and enhancement of biological diversity as an essential driver of sustainable development is in need of transformative change. It’s time to make that happen.
Debates about the need to avert environmental disasters and to help the most vulnerable are marred by economic and energy security concerns. They shouldn’t be, as the only path to success is a green and equitable one.
We need consensus to accurately evaluate the performance and potential of emerging water production technologies, such as solar evaporation and atmospheric water harvesting. Here we recommend practices that would allow a fair basis to compare different studies, and help to align research input with actual demand.
A panel of leading global experts working at the forefront of battery research and applications shares insights into how further development of this critical energy technology can effectively integrate sustainability principles.
Having transformed our way of life, rechargeable batteries are poised for exponential growth over the coming decade, notably due to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. An international expert panel proposes a combination of vision, innovation and practice for feasible pathways toward sustainable batteries.
Most cities lack holistic monitoring and green infrastructure to mitigate pollution in urban runoff. We call for systematic characterization of runoff and more widespread treatment to protect biodiversity and human health. This challenge requires data-driven, adapted, low-cost and sustainable solutions for dense urban centres.
Deciding on an equitable, inclusive, sustainable development path globally, instead of business as usual, is the only way out of the current crises and to avert future crises.
Orchestrating a global transition to a sustainable world economy seems both urgent and surpassingly daunting. J.R. McNeill asks whether there is a workaround.
Contamination of the environment with plastics is one of the most widespread and long-lasting human influences on our planet. There is an urgent need to comprehensively evaluate the environmental plastics cycle and advance understanding of key transport and fate mechanisms to minimize human exposure to plastics pollution.
In the coming months, Nature Sustainability will be publishing a series of World Views from diverse scholars to stimulate further thinking and dialogue within the community.
Water research has fallen into a ‘techno optimism’ that tries to solve all problems despite not asking fundamental questions, according to Stephanie Pincetl of the University of California, Los Angeles. She talks to Nature Sustainability about the challenges facing the field and science writ large.
Dr Shailja Vaidya Gupta is Senior Adviser at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. She tells Nature Sustainability about the challenges of climate negotiations from her country’s perspective, views are her own.
