Nature Sustainability
Volume 4 Issue 3, March 2021
Shaping sustainable cooling
Cooling demand is expected to increase. A new framework of socio-economic, technological, environmental and geopolitical factors allows researchers to identify sustainable cooling solutions, which go beyond improving technology.
See Khosla et al.
Image: ballyscanlon / Photodisc / Getty. Cover design: Valentina Monaco.
Editorial
Editorial | 04 March 2021
Setting biodiversity goals
A new biodiversity decade is about to start and hopefully will achieve just progress for both people and the planet.
Focus:
News & Views
News & Views | 09 November 2020
It takes communities to save forests
For decades research has found evidence that community forest management provides both income for local communities and conservation of forests. A recent article suggests some of the design principles that can make it work.
- David Barton Bray
News & Views | 07 December 2020
Green solvent for perovskite solar cell production
Perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology is moving closer to commercialization but the ecotoxicity of the solvents involved in perovskite processing remains a barrier. A study now identifies a green solvent that can help PSC sustainability and scalability.
- Nam-Gyu Park
Perspective | 12 October 2020
Insights from early COVID-19 responses about promoting sustainable action
Aligned action to address the COVID-19 crisis contrasts with the heterogeneous response to tackle climate and sustainability challenges. The authors discuss the importance of strong personal norms and lessons for sustainability.
- Thijs Bouman
- Linda Steg
- Thomas Dietz
Perspective | 19 October 2020
Cooling for sustainable development
Demand for cooling is expected to increase globally. To deliver sustainable cooling beyond energy-intensive technological solutions, a comprehensive analytical framework and research agenda are proposed.
- Radhika Khosla
- Nicole D. Miranda
- Malcolm McCulloch
Research
Article | 14 December 2020
Criticality analysis of a country’s transport network via an agent-based supply chain model
Assessing the performance of an economy in times of crisis is a difficult task. This study presents an agent-based model capturing the behaviour of firms facing transport and supply disruptions due to natural disasters, and shows possible paths to reinforce infrastructure and supply chain resilience.
- Célian Colon
- Stéphane Hallegatte
- Julie Rozenberg
Article | 09 November 2020
A global analysis of the social and environmental outcomes of community forests
An analysis of 643 cases of community forest management shows that most led to improved environmental and income outcomes, but access and resource rights often deteriorate when formalizing such management.
- Reem Hajjar
- Johan A. Oldekop
- Wen Zhou
Article | 16 November 2020
Negative to positive shifts in diversity effects on soil nitrogen over time
Soil nitrogen is vital for terrestrial ecosystems. This study finds that soil nitrogen increases with the number and age of plant species, suggesting another benefit from conserving plant diversity.
- Xinli Chen
- Han Y. H. Chen
- Peter B. Reich
Article | 09 November 2020
Organic wastewater treatment by a single-atom catalyst and electrolytically produced H2O2
Here the authors design an electrolysis reactor to generate H2O2 which could be further catalytically activated by Cu single atoms to yield hydroxyl radicals. Combining the two reactions enables a system that could treat organic wastewater, providing a path toward sustainable advanced oxidation processes.
- Jinwei Xu
- Xueli Zheng
- Yi Cui
Analysis | 07 December 2020
Influence of land tenure interventions on human well-being and environmental outcomes
A meta-analysis of 117 studies to determine the impacts of land tenure security on socio-environmental outcomes and sustainable development.
- Tzu-Wei Joy Tseng
- Brian E. Robinson
- Yuta J. Masuda
Analysis | 07 December 2020
Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018
The impacts of wildfires in the western United States have been increasing for decades. Combining physical, epidemiological and economic models, this study finds that the economic damage of California wildfires in 2018 was roughly 1.5% of California’s annual gross domestic product.
- Daoping Wang
- Dabo Guan
- Steven J. Davis
Analysis | 23 November 2020
Meta-analysis of oyster impacts on coastal biogeochemistry
Oysters clean nutrient-polluted waters, but their populations have crashed. This study synthesizes research on oyster impacts and finds that they help remove excess nitrogen and promote nutrient recycling without contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Nicholas E. Ray
- Robinson W. Fulweiler
Analysis | 16 November 2020
Climate change extremes and photovoltaic power output
Continued carbon-intensive development is unsustainable. This study assesses how cloudiness and weather variability, enhanced by climate change, will affect photovoltaic output, finding that conditions are likely to worsen by mid-century over the Arabian Peninsula while improving over southern Europe.
- Sarah Feron
- Raúl R. Cordero
- Robert B. Jackson
Analysis | 07 December 2020
Assessing health and environmental impacts of solvents for producing perovskite solar cells
Perovskite solar cells could be a game-changing energy technology. However, the solvents involved during fabrication pose sustainability concerns. Here, the authors provide an analysis of human health toxicity and environmental implications of handling solvents, recommending dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the green choice for large-scale production.
- Rosario Vidal
- Jaume-Adrià Alberola-Borràs
- Joseph M. Luther
Amendments & Corrections
Author Correction | 09 February 2021
Author Correction: Mapping the forest disturbance regimes of Europe
- Cornelius Senf
- Rupert Seidl
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