Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability最新文献

Social constraints and limits on adaptation are strongly influenced by the rates at which climate-influenced risks emerge and the speed of the coping response, including the pace at which adaptative changes can be made. This short review assesses how adaptation limits are shaped by extreme events, changing probabilities of extreme events under climate change, the future evolution of adaptation options and strategies, the emergence of cascading or systemic risks and historical patterns of social relations. While adaptation limits are expressed by tipping points in the behaviours of social actors, this behaviour is framed by intersecting temporalities (cultural, economic, technical and political) operating through social systems. Greater awareness of these temporalities will help improve our capacity to analyse and predict the social tipping points, which are evidence of adaptation limits, improving the capacity of international and public policy to target resources at the most vulnerable.

Sustainability science emphasizes interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. However, several authors argue that sociology remains underutilized, despite its potential to significantly improve our understanding of the human–nature relationship and social change processes. This has been changing in recent years, with more attention directed to maritime social sciences, especially after the MARE 2019 conference. Academic production in different social sciences regarding maritime issues has been intensively developing. In this article, we first assess the current position of sociology within the subfield of maritime social sciences. We found that sociology lags in its engagement in social maritime research and provides a possible explanation related to the classical disciplinary distinction between modernity and tradition. Second, we describe the recent discussions on a possible new “maritime sociology” subfield. Finally, we discuss the potential contributions of sociology’s disciplinary toolbox (agency, institutions, social change, social fields) to transitions to sustainability.

Environmental monitoring and assessment in port areas are vital for mitigating the impacts of maritime activities on surrounding ecosystems and communities. This review paper synthesizes recent literature (57 papers) from 2022 to 2024, highlighting technological advancements, case studies, and future directions. The integration of traditional and innovative approaches, such as remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems, big data analytics, and autonomous vehicles, is emphasized to enhance monitoring effectiveness. Key environmental issues, such as air and water pollution, habitat degradation, and noise pollution, are examined, alongside initiatives addressing these concerns. This review aims to inform researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about state-of-the-art techniques and emerging challenges in port environmental monitoring, contributing to sustainable port development and management.

Ensuring the sustainability of food systems is imperative, and agroecology, with its emphasis on increasing agrobiodiversity within seed systems, emerges as a crucial approach. However, influential groups strongly promote an emphasis on improved varieties and certified seeds. This article aims to increase the portfolio of options of seed systems interventions by presenting the recent developments in enhancing agrobiodiversity to make potato seed systems in the Andes more robust. We reviewed the literature on this subject, and the results show different innovative seed initiatives taking place in the Andes. These initiatives encompass, for example, capacity-building for regional seed custodian networks, fostering stronger ties between rural schools and local agrobiodiversity knowledge, and the implementation of payments for agrobiodiversity conservation services. We expect that this article shows new strategies to strengthen seed systems through the engagement of farmers and the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity.

This review paper contributes to understanding and interpreting the widely adopted Doughnut model by investigating the mathematical objects underpinning its creation. While the model has gained popularity as a geometrical representation of sustainability, little attention has been given to the nature and properties of its components. By analyzing the visuals of the model and using mathematical tools such as sets and hypergraphs, this work provides a new perspective on the pathways to sustainability. The deconstructive methodology reveals a paradox within the model that distinguishes weak sustainability from strong sustainability. This paper adds value by extending the range of ideas and implications associated with the Doughnut model and providing a more nuanced understanding of its implications for sustainability.

Climate change became a central issue in 1988 with the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Financial authorities only started to take up the subject in 2015. Since then, they have continuously accelerated their endeavour in this regard and have quickly added biodiversity loss to the environmental issues to deal with. Unfortunately, despite the very fast learning curve they follow, financial authorities have taken a path that may not succeed. But moving beyond approaches solely based on a financial risk paradigm and fostering transdisciplinary research to address broad systemic questions at the interface of the natural and socioeconomic worlds, central banks and supervisory authorities could enter a new era, where the impact of their decisions would contribute materially to solve the challenges of our time.

This paper examines the evolving landscape of biodiversity reporting standards, describes their underlying rationale and anticipated effects, and highlights unresolved issues that impede the provision of ‘good’ information to markets and other report users. While a variety of reporting regulations exist, they do not point to a common ground for reporting. They address different aspects of corporate biodiversity impact and adopt different conceptions of assurance and materiality. Given the early stage of this field, further research is needed on what best practice informational governance may entail.