Featured
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Outlook |
Water: a source of life and strife
Water is an essential resource, but it can also cause conflict, expose people to pollution and put communities at risk in the form of flooding.
- Herb Brody
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Outlook |
Sizing up hydrogen’s hydrological footprint
The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is essential to decarbonizing economies. Industrial policies and technology developments could trim the water consumption involved in producing the gas, minimizing its cost and environmental impact.
- Peter Fairley
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Outlook |
Fresh water from thin air
Strategies for collecting water from the atmosphere using minimal energy could fill a crucial gap in sustaining communities that have limited access to water.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Outlook |
The most important issue about water is not supply, but how it is used
The world faces a series of deep and worsening crises that demand radical changes in how we understand, manage and use fresh water.
- Peter Gleick
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Outlook |
The human factor in water disasters
Decisions about land use and infrastructure have left little space for water, amplifying the effects of natural disasters and climate change.
- Erica Gies
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Article
| Open AccessSpread in climate policy scenarios unravelled
A Sobol attribution analysis unveils the roles of mitigation targets, model differences and scenario assumptions in shaping climate policy scenario outcomes.
- Mark M. Dekker
- , Andries F. Hof
- & Detlef P. van Vuuren
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Editorial |
Frugal innovation: why low cost doesn’t have to mean low impact
Science is starting to recognize the movement to create mass-market products using local knowledge and materials to improve lives around the world.
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Editorial |
Combat corporate greenwashing with better science
Companies must be transparent about how they calculate their emissions goals. Researchers must help to clear up doubts about the system.
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Research Briefing |
Pesticide cocktails harm bumblebees in European fields
Exposure to the complex mix of pesticides used in agriculture in Europe significantly reduces bumblebees’ health. This suggests that current risk-assessment processes, in which pesticides are assessed separately, are not fit for purpose. Continuous monitoring is needed to quantify the real-world effects of pesticides on pollinator health.
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Article
| Open AccessPesticide use negatively affects bumble bees across European landscapes
Results from 316 Bombus terrestris colonies at 106 agricultural sites across eight European countries find pesticides in bumble bee pollen to be associated with reduced colony performance, especially in areas of intensive agriculture.
- Charlie C. Nicholson
- , Jessica Knapp
- & Maj Rundlöf
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Article
| Open AccessHuman mobility networks reveal increased segregation in large cities
There is extreme socioeconomic segregation in large US cities, arising from a greater choice of differentiated spaces targeted to specific socioeconomic groups, which can be countered by positioning city hubs (such as shopping centres) to bridge diverse neighbourhoods.
- Hamed Nilforoshan
- , Wenli Looi
- & Jure Leskovec
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Nature Index |
Are rooftop solar panels the answer to meeting China’s challenging climate targets?
Research is central to the success of major photovoltaic programmes in ramping up clean energy and alleviating rural poverty.
- Yvaine Ye
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Obituary |
Gordon Conway (1938–2023), leader in sustainable development
Agricultural ecologist who promoted sustainable practices by engaging farmers worldwide.
- Ian Scoones
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Article
| Open AccessHigh-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation
Satellite data used to generate high-resolution maps across Southeast Asia show that rubber-related deforestation is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by estimates used for setting policy.
- Yunxia Wang
- , Peter M. Hollingsworth
- & Antje Ahrends
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Correspondence |
Agriculture: reform the global food system
- Joern Fischer
- , Elena Bennett
- & Guy Pe’er
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Obituary |
M. S. Swaminathan (1925–2023), leader of India’s ‘green revolution’
Agricultural scientist who introduced crops to end famine in India in the 1960s.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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News |
Flood-prone areas are hotspots for urban development
The settlement trend has continued, even as awareness of the risks of climate change has increased.
- Xiaoying You
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Correspondence |
Coffee’s legacy: almost 300 years of deforestation
- Aaron P. Davis
- & Fernando E. Vega
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Editorial |
Rich countries must align science funding with the SDGs
Research in poorer countries maps closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals — wealthy nations must follow if the goals are to be met.
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Matters Arising |
Global effects of marine protected areas on food security are unknown
- Daniel Ovando
- , Owen Liu
- & Cody Szuwalski
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News |
World recommits to 2030 plan to save humanity — despite falling short so far
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres proposes US$500-billion annual stimulus package to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Jeff Tollefson
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Article |
The contribution of wildfire to PM2.5 trends in the USA
Ground- and satellite-based air pollution data from 2000 to 2022 quantify the contribution of wildfire smoke to stagnation or reversal in PM2.5 concentration trends, showing that this contribution will grow as the climate continues to warm.
- Marshall Burke
- , Marissa L. Childs
- & Michael Wara
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Article |
Global iron and steel plant CO2 emissions and carbon-neutrality pathways
A CO2 emissions inventory of 4,883 individual iron and steel plants along with their technical characteristics is described, allowing the identification and guidance of the most appropriate emissions mitigation and decarbonization pathways for each plant.
- Tianyang Lei
- , Daoping Wang
- & Dabo Guan
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Comment |
What scientists need to do to accelerate progress on the SDGs
Drilling down into why the UN Sustainable Development Goals are so hard to achieve, and showing policymakers pathways to follow, will help the planet and save lives.
- Shirin Malekpour
- , Cameron Allen
- & Kaltham Al-Ghanim
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News Feature |
Do you really know the way the world is heading? Take this quiz on plans to save humanity
The United Nations has ambitious aims to end poverty and clean up the planet by 2030. See whether you know how the world is faring on the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Ehsan Masood
- & Richard Van Noorden
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Nature Podcast |
A mussel-inspired glue for more sustainable sticking
A soya-oil-derived adhesive matches the strength of conventional glues, and reassessing the extent and impacts of childhood malnutrition.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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Correspondence |
SDG 14.5: at last, a breakthrough for the 2030 agenda
- Sarat Babu Gidda
- , Sujata Arora
- & Theresa Lim
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Editorial |
The world’s goals to save humanity are hugely ambitious — but they are still the best option
Not one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals looks set to be achieved by 2030. But deadlines can help focus the mind, and scientists should double down on their work to support the goals.
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Book Review |
Bucking the system: the extraordinary story of how the SDGs came to be
Behind the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a stirring tale of people overcoming huge odds against hostile institutions.
- Ehsan Masood
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Editorial |
Gender equality: the route to a better world
Health outcomes, ending poverty and greening the environment are boosted when power is shared between the genders.
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News |
Antarctic research stations have polluted a pristine wilderness
Historical bad practices have left a legacy of pollution, but efforts are under way to chart a better future.
- Gemma Conroy
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Editorial |
Tackle ever-growing consumption to safeguard sustainability gains
The world is consuming more efficiently, but still using more stuff. More-concerted efforts to change both consumer and producer behaviour are needed.
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Editorial |
Want a sustainable future? Then look to the world’s cities
In a rapidly urbanizing world, what happens in cities matters — and sustainability success stories show what can be achieved when researchers and policymakers work together.
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News |
Science’s carbon footprint: how health research can cut emissions
Wellcome report identifies more than 140 initiatives to make health research more environmentally sustainable
- Lilly Tozer
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Editorial |
Beyond greenwashing: how to make business and finance genuinely sustainable
Researchers have a big role in unlocking funds for sustainability and ensuring that companies’ pledges are credible.
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Research Briefing |
A coupled land–sea approach to coral-reef conservation in a warming ocean
Local human-derived stressors combine with global ocean warming to threaten coral-reef persistence. Simultaneous reduction of human-derived stressors that originate on land, such as coastal run-off, and sea-based stressors, such as fishing pressure, resulted in greater coral-reef persistence before, during and after severe heat stress than did reduction of either alone.
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Article
| Open AccessDiverse values of nature for sustainability
Following a wide-ranging review of studies, reports and policies about nature’s multiple values, combinations of values-centred approaches are proposed to improve valuation of nature, address barriers to uptake in decision-making, and make transformative changes towards more just and sustainable futures.
- Unai Pascual
- , Patricia Balvanera
- & Eglee Zent
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Comment |
Indigenous youth must be at the forefront of climate diplomacy
Holistic approaches to water and land management practised by Indigenous communities worldwide hold the key to a more sustainable future, say co-organizers of the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change.
- Temitope Olawunmi Sogbanmu
- , Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon
- & Adeyemi Oladapo Aremu
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Editorial |
Water crisis: how local technologies can help solve a global problem
Climate change is making water stress worse for billions worldwide. Scaling up both new and traditional solutions must be a priority.
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Research Highlight |
Aggressive driving sends carbon levels soaring
Analysis of data from China shows that calm driving in that country alone can save nearly half a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050.
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Article
| Open AccessAccelerating the energy transition towards photovoltaic and wind in China
To meet China’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, substantial investment in upgrading power systems needs to be made to optimize the deployment of new photovoltaic and wind power plants.
- Yijing Wang
- , Rong Wang
- & Renhe Zhang
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Correspondence |
No-pay publishing: use institutional repositories
- Isabel Bernal
- & Pandelis Perakakis
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Article
| Open AccessThe global wildland–urban interface
A global assessment shows that the wildland–urban interface occurs on all continents, showing its broad-scale patterns and providing a basis for future research on dynamics and socioeconomic and biophysical processes.
- Franz Schug
- , Avi Bar-Massada
- & Volker C. Radeloff
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Article |
A planetary health innovation for disease, food and water challenges in Africa
By harvesting aquatic vegetation that provides habitat for snails that harbour Schistosoma parasites and converting it to compost and animal feed, a trial reduced schistosomiasis prevalence in children while providing wider economic benefits.
- Jason R. Rohr
- , Alexandra Sack
- & Caitlin Wolfe
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Editorial |
Hunger and famine are not accidents — they are created by the actions of people
Hundreds of millions of people are going hungry as conflicts affect food supplies. There is also growing evidence that food producers are exploiting the situation to increase their profits.
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Editorial |
A decades-long decline in extreme poverty has gone into reverse — here’s how to fix things
Factors ranging from COVID-19 to Russia’s war in Ukraine are increasing extreme poverty. Finding effective solutions starts with agreeing on how to measure what poverty means.