One Earth最新文献

Achieving the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target necessitates reversing the rise in atmospheric concentrations of methane (CH₄), which is a greenhouse gas that is more radiatively potent than carbon dioxide, and that possesses a considerably shorter lifetime. Future reductions in pollutants like nitrogen oxides for air quality improvement are anticipated, with a side effect of potentially extending the lifetime of CH₄. However, at present the antagonism between air quality improvements and climate change response with respect to CH₄ lifetime is not being prominently addressed. Utilizing the GEOS-Chem model, we assessed CH₄ lifetime sensitivity to pollutant emissions. Applying this sensitivity to the OSCAR box model, we simulated future CH₄ dynamics, revealing that pollutant reduction in SSP1-26 compared to SSP2-45 could offset nearly 20% of CH₄ abatement efforts. Our study highlights the pollution abatement penalty in controlling atmospheric CH₄ concentrations, suggesting the need for escalated endeavors to combat climate change.

In this issue of One Earth, Pienkowski et al. propose a framework for nature’s contributions to social determinants of mental health. In this preview, Buckley examines how that framework fits within human economic structures and statistics and its potential political consequences.

Current dietary protein production and consumption are depleting resources, degrading the environment, and fueling chronic diseases. These human and environmental impacts ignite intense debate on how to shift away from resource-intensive animal-based proteins. While there is significant research across disciplines on shifting supply-demand aspects, knowledge gaps remain in how to transition to optimize nutrition while reducing bidirectional climate change effects. These gaps stymy incentives and policy change to make bold food systems transformations and determine levers to invest in. Here we present a transdisciplinary overview of evidence on proteins’ environmental impacts and vulnerability of crop, livestock, and aquatic proteins to climate change. We identify critical unknowns fueling concerns surrounding transitions and propose research directions to increase the likelihood transitions will be environmentally sound and healthy, harnessing genetic crop diversity, managing agricultural landscapes sustainably, and considering cell-based alternatives and pro-equity policies that facilitate healthy choices. Implementing changes requires nuanced, regionally tailored approaches incorporating socio-behavioral, public health, nutrition, and climate science fostering effective debate and solutions promoting sustainability and health.

Batteries, essential for a net-zero future, are highly dependent on critical metals, the extraction and supply of which inflict harm on society and the environment and are subject to geopolitical tensions. To reduce damages and secure supply, the EU has introduced ambitious targets for end-of-life battery recycling and critical metal recovery; however, the feasibility of such targets remains unclear. Here, to explore the impacts of the EU’s proposed recycled content (RC) targets on battery material circularly, we develop a comprehensive material flow analysis model for the EU’s lithium-ion batteries and consider different climate targets and battery chemistries, lifespans, and repurposing rates. Results show that achieving the EU’s RC targets in 2036, especially for cobalt, is challenging. The RC targets become more achievable via, e.g., maintaining a high rate of manufacturing waste, disincentivizing battery repurposing, and forcing the early retirement of batteries, which could, however, undermine battery material circularity. Our analysis suggests that the EU should remain flexible in its RC targets.

Large swaths of land are regularly converted to the production of commodities—goods that can be traded on a large scale in the global market via telecoupled systems. While commodity-driven land use can contribute significantly to national economies, it often leads to unsustainable land-grabbing practices and can exacerbate inequalities, damage biodiversity, or extract resources unsustainably. This Voices seeks to understand the challenges and opportunities of managing commodity-driven land use in telecoupled systems.

Nature-based climate solutions (NbCSs) could play an important role in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. The contribution approach offers an alternative model to carbon offsetting for funding NbCSs. This paper presents three crucial design principles to help ensure the contribution approach results in high-quality climate and other benefits and avoids harms.

Anuradha Mittal is the executive director of the Oakland Institute, an independent policy think tank known for its rigorous research and analysis on key social, economic, and environmental issues. The Oakland Institute aims to inspire change through informed and active citizenship. We recently spoke with Dr. Mittal about the impact of carbon credits sales on land use.

Citizen assemblies (CAs) could enrich policymaking by unveiling public values and preferences for climate polices. Yet, the current paradigm guiding CAs is rationalistic and primarily fact orientated. This might underexploit the potential of CAs to bring a unique contribution to climate policymaking. I propose a paradigm shift that creates explicit room for citizens’ values in CAs. Using concrete examples, I illustrate how every step of CAs could be transformed to elicit citizens’ values: from citizen selection, to setting the remit, facilitating the discussion, and shaping and institutionalizing policy recommendations.

We provide an inter-industry perspective that illuminates why and how sustainable forest management is so elusive in the tropics. We offer a novel, integrated industrial system that would enable a paradigm shift for tropical forestry, so that increasing demands for forest products can drive positive outcomes for people, nature, and climate.