Four interactions – changes in climate affecting water runoff; changes in climate affecting vegetation cover; changes in vegetation cover affecting climate; and changes in vegetation cover affecting water runoff – are deemed of utmost importance for understanding the impact on the Earth system on policy-relevant timefr ...

The European Nature Restoration Law (NRL) establishes rules and procedures for the restoration and conservation of natural resources and ecosystems to compensate or offset damage to natural resources and promote sustainable development.  While center-right, far-right and conservative politicians such as Kai Mykkänen, F ...

The Austrian Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) voted in defiance of the coalition partner to pass the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, thereby pushing it through by a narrow majority.  She decided that it was her duty to approve this central pillar of the EU’s efforts to reverse the major degradation of its l ...

Financial services are critical for corporate activities to regenerate and promote biosphere resilience as a key strategy to confront the new risk landscape and are essential to the transformation needed for a sustainable future. Current financial risk frameworks focus mainly on financial materiality and risks to the f ...

Numerous social and ecological benefits are associated with nature-based solutions (NBS).  This study gathered the views of stakeholders engaged in urban planning regarding the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS).  The findings revealed that stakeholders perceive numerous social and ecological advantages associa ...

Material circularity (MC) develops positively when a material is circulated through reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, or recycling at its highest quality, it usually being measured through material flow analysis (MFA).  When economic value is generated as commonly measured through life cycle costing (LCC), economic ...

SDG 9 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) sets out eight targets and twelve indicators used to monitor the achievement of the goals. With more than half of the world's population living in cities, mass transport, renewable energy and carbon reduction call for solutions and new industries and information and ...

Sustainability has become a key corporate strategy inspiring companies to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  This paper identifies the SDG priorities in the automotive industry worldwide, from the point of view of the geographic, cultural, social, and economic specifics of the countries in which th ...

Adaptation planning more effectively reduces climate risk when it identifies not only disparities in how people are affected by climate change but also the underlying causes of climate vulnerability.  Transformative adaptation involves consideration of the physical and social drivers of vulnerability and how they inter ...

During the past decade, more renewable power was added to the grid annually than fossil fuel and nuclear power combined. Renewable technologies dominate the global energy market for new electricity generation capacity simply because they have become the cheapest sources of electricity in many markets. 260 gigawatts of ...

Economic strategies aim to drive research and innovation, develop bilateral and multilateral partnerships further economic reconciliation with indigenous peoples. Among the most recognizable values credentials companies use to demonstrate their commitment to best practices are environmental, social, and governance (ESG ...

A crucial shift is required in urban development away from solely preventing climate change towards environmental action that protects and restores nature.  Cities can advance their nature-positive transition and expedite restorative and renaturalization actions to benefit and reap the rewards of a sustainable and resi ...

To accelerate SDG localization and sustainable local and regional development, national governments must urgently implement an enabling framework for subnational governments to meet their devolved responsibilities and the demands of the communities.  The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a holistic agenda intend ...

Climate change denial is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change.  It refers to denial, dismissal, or doubt of the scientific consensus on the rate and extent of global warming, its significance, or its connection to ...

The world’s climate has already changed measurably in response to accumulating greenhouse gas (GHG). Considerable uncertainties surround both the extent of future climate change and the biophysical impacts of such change. Despite the uncertainties, climate scientists strongly agree that in the absence of measures to si ...