Journal: One Earth

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Publisher

Cell Press

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ISSN

2590-3322

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2020 - 202523
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Publications 1 - 10 of 23
  • Fish communities can simultaneously contribute to nature and people across the world's tropical reefs
    Item type: Journal Article
    Flandrin, Ulysse; Mouillot, David; Albouy, Camille; et al. (2024)
    One Earth
    Anthropogenic activities are eroding biodiversity and its contributions to nature and people worldwide. Yet, the dual imperative to protect nature and sustain human well-being raises potential trade-offs that remain to be quantified. Using standardized fish surveys across 1,237 tropical reefs worldwide, we converted the presence and abundance data of 1,024 species into 29 fish community contributions that primarily benefit either nature or people. We show that “nature-for-nature” contributions are mostly positively correlated with total fish biomass, while “nature-for-people” contributions are more independent. Trade-offs among contributions are not the rule, with some tropical fish communities simultaneously providing high levels of different contributions. High mean contributions have been found in all tropical oceans, so sustaining healthy tropical reefs while promoting human well-being seems achievable within most countries, rather than mutually exclusive. Our framework offers an opportunity to explore different management strategies and pathways on tropical reefs between the use and the sparing of nature toward more favorable and sustainable ecological and social futures.
  • Sustainability footprints of a renewable carbon transition for the petrochemical sector within planetary boundaries
    Item type: Journal Article
    Galán Martín, Ángel; Tulus Merlich, Victor; Díaz, Ismael; et al. (2021)
    One Earth
    The petrochemical sector will play a crucial role in developing low-carbon transition technologies, but the industry also contributes a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. Momentum is building to help reduce the carbon footprint of this hard-to-abate sector, particularly through replacing fossil carbon feedstocks with carbon from biomass, captured CO2, and other recycled resources, but the broader implications of these so-called “solutions” remain unclear. Here, we assess the overall sustainability of such “renewable carbon pathways” by quantifying their life-cycle environmental footprints with respect to the previously defined nine planetary boundaries. We show that although a shift toward renewable carbon pathways could indeed reduce CO2 emissions by 25% to over 100%, the scenario with the lowest carbon footprint could exceed the biodiversity planetary boundary by at least 30%. Our work highlights the potential pitfalls of overlooking global environmental guardrails beyond greenhouse gas emissions reduction and identifies new avenues for quantifying the environmental footprint of decarbonization solutions for hard-to-abate sectors.
  • Digitizing a sustainable future
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Reisch, Lucia A.; Joppa, Lucas; Howson, Peter; et al. (2021)
    One Earth
    Digital technologies have a crucial role in facilitating transitions toward a sustainable future. Yet there remain challenges to overcome and pitfalls to avoid. This Voices asks: how do we leverage the digital transformation to successfully support a sustainability transition?
  • The true costs of digital currencies: Exploring impact beyond energy use
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    de Vries, Alex; Gallersdörfer, Ulrich; Klaaßen, Lena; et al. (2021)
    One Earth
    The digital currency Bitcoin is known for its energy hunger and associated carbon footprint. Investors, however, must not neglect further environmental, social, and governance issues related to digital currencies. Therefore, we urge the adoption of a more comprehensive view in assessing the externalities of investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
  • Emphasizing urgency of climate change is insufficient to increase policy support
    Item type: Journal Article
    Fesenfeld, Lukas P.; Rinscheid, Adrian (2021)
    One Earth
    Although many people are concerned about climate change, active public support for ambitious policies is still lagging behind. How can this gap be closed? Recent work has theorized that the perceived urgency of climate change drives public support for climate policy, but this lacks empirical evidence. Using advanced sparse regressions and comparative survey-embedded framing experiments with 9,911 eligible voters in Germany and the United States, we empirically studied the role of perceived urgency. Our study provides two findings. First, although perceived urgency is key in driving support for “low-cost” mitigation policies, it does not lead to more support for “high-cost” mitigation policies where the behavioral implications are visible. Second, while temporal reframing does not increase policy support or feelings of dread, context information about demand-side mitigation increases support for such costly climate policies. The results are particularly relevant for democracies, where ambitious policies require the support of citizens. © 2021 Elsevier
  • Overview of evidence on mechanisms affecting the outcomes of terrestrial multiple-use protected areas
    Item type: Review Article
    Stoudmann, Natasha; Savilaakso, Sini; Waeber, Patrick O.; et al. (2023)
    One Earth
    Multiple-use protected areas (PAs) aim to safeguard biodiversity and contribute to human well-being, making them key instruments in meeting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) goals. However, it is currently unclear what evidence exists on the impacts of human activities performed within them. This limits our understanding of how multiple-use PAs are expected to meet their dual objectives. Here, we aim to address this gap by collating evidence relating to human activities taking place within multiple-use PAs globally. Results show that few studies have a low risk of bias, and study locations are not representative of PAs’ geographical distribution. Activities putting the greatest pressure on PAs’ biodiversity are not those most often researched, and studies on ecological outcomes outweigh socioeconomic ones. To be able to track progress toward achieving the GBF goals, we need to improve the quality of evidence, engage at the local level, and focus on knowledge gaps that are aligned with protected area targets.
  • Coordinating stakeholders along the construction value chain toward sustainability
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    De Wolf, Catherine; Carter, Kealy; Assi, Lateef; et al. (2023)
    One Earth
    Construction—of homes, business spaces, infrastructure—is the symbol of development. However, the construction sector often lacks environmental sustainability and is responsible for considerable material and greenhouse gas footprints along the value chain. A sustainable transformation is urgently needed, requiring action and coordination across stakeholders and throughout the value chain. This Voices asks: what barriers must be overcome across the value chain to shape a sustainable construction sector?
  • A framework for complex climate change risk assessment
    Item type: Review Article
    Simpson, Nicholas P.; Seneviratne, Sonia I.; et al. (2021)
    One Earth
    Real-world experience underscores the complexity of interactions among multiple drivers of climate change risk and of how multiple risks compound or cascade. However, a holistic framework for assessing such complex climate change risks has not yet been achieved. Clarity is needed regarding the interactions that generate risk, including the role of adaptation and mitigation responses. In this perspective, we present a framework for three categories of increasingly complex climate change risk that focus on interactions among the multiple drivers of risk, as well as among multiple risks. A significant innovation is recognizing that risks can arise both from potential impacts due to climate change and from responses to climate change. This approach encourages thinking that traverses sectoral and regional boundaries and links physical and socio-economic drivers of risk. Advancing climate change risk assessment in these ways is essential for more informed decision making that reduces negative climate change impacts.
  • Region-specific nutritious, environmentally friendly, and affordable diets in India
    Item type: Journal Article
    Chaudhary, Abhishek; Krishna, Vaibhav (2021)
    One Earth
    In recent times, there has been an increased international interest in India's food systems. There is a concern that, with rising population and incomes, India's adoption of unsustainable dietary patterns could have disastrous consequences not only for public health but also for the environment, locally and globally. This in turn can seriously threaten the progress toward achievement of the United Nations global Sustainable Development Goals. Identifying and informing stakeholders of sustainable dietary behaviors is thus essential. Here, using a non-linear optimization algorithm, we identify a sustainable diet for each of India's 35 states. These diets meet daily recommendations for 29 nutrients, exist within five environmental planetary boundaries, including greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, cropland use, nitrogen, and phosphorus application, and satisfy several cultural acceptability constraints. Results reveal that, while such a sustainable diet is possible, it will cost 50% more than current diets in most Indian states. Our results offer optimistic news that India's nutrition problem can be solved without jeopardizing the environment. © 2021 Elsevier Inc.
  • Ambitious food system interventions required to mitigate the risk of exceeding Earth’s environmental limits
    Item type: Journal Article
    Hadjikakou, Michalis; Bowles, Nicholas I.; Geyik, Ozge; et al. (2025)
    One Earth
    Transforming the global food system is essential to avoid exceeding Earth’s environmental limits. A robust evidence base is crucial to assess the scale and combination of interventions required for a sustainable transformation. We developed a risk assessment framework, underpinned by an evidence synthesis of global food system modeling studies, to quantify the potential of individual and combined interventions to mitigate the risk of exceeding global environmental limits for agricultural area, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, surface water flows, and nutrient cycles by 2050. GHG emissions and nutrient cycles are the most difficult limits to avoid exceeding and are conditional on shifts toward diets with a low proportion of animal-source foods; steep reductions in emissions intensity; substantial improvements in nutrient management, feed-conversion ratios, and crop yields; and efforts to limit overconsumption and food waste. Ambitious actions across the global food system are needed to ensure the required level of risk mitigation.
Publications 1 - 10 of 23