A new study has quantified the economic impact of reducing avoidable food waste in Germany, Poland and Spain. The researchers modelled impacts on production, GDP and employment. The results show that reducing food waste from households has the greatest impact, although policy measures should be…

Drought is a complex and recurring natural disaster that occurs throughout the world and often has negative impacts on many sectors of society. Drought monitoring is challenging given the complex spatio-temporal dimensions of drought and its severity. Traditionally, drought monitoring has relied…

Study is the first to evaluate the effect of extreme heat on the probability of local work in rural Mexico, write Katrina Jessoe, Dale Manning and Edward Taylor

Twenty-four million new jobs will be created globally by 2030 if the right policies to promote a greener economy are put in place, a new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) says. Action to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, to limit global temperature rise to below 2…

Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns lead to heat waves and droughts occurring with greater frequency and intensity. This issue includes a collection of original research documenting how droughts and heatwaves, as well as their impacts on both natural and human systems, may change with…

Awareness of the threats to mental health posed by climate change leads to questions about the potential impacts on climate scientists because they are immersed in depressing information and may face apathy, denial and even hostility from others. But they also have sources of resilience.

What is planetary health? And what kind of science will this new journal be seeking? In The Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health, planetary health was defined as the health of human civilisations and the natural systems on which they depend. To explain this idea in simpler…

Freshwater supplies have already seriously declined in 19 global hotspots – from China to the Caspian Sea – due to overuse, groundbreaking study show

Adaptive water governance seeks to increase a social-ecological system’s adaptive capacity in the face of uncertainty and change. This is especially important in non-linear dryland systems that are already exposed to water scarcity and increasing degradation. Conservation of water ecosystem services…

In the first months of 2018 three studies recently published by the World Bank (WB),the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) prominently addressed the link between degradation of land, water stress…

Given that land and soils are increasingly threatened by degradation, this project investigated how SDG target 15.3, which strives to achieve a land degradation neutral world by 2030, can be implemented. The report suggests necessary steps towards the implementation of Land Degradation Neutrality…

This infographic shows the interactions and key questions around the relationship triangle of water, energy and food security, like: What are energy efficient water-treatment technologies? How does watershed management help hydropower? What technologies make irrigation more water efficient? et al.

"Land degradation is estimated to cost the global economy from $2 to $4.5 trillion a year, while economic benefits of restoration efforts are an estimated $84 billion a year, according to a report in Environmental Research Letters, and statistics from World Resources Institute. The purpose of the…

Quick and easy to read, the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) country profiles give an overview of the agricultural challenges in countries around the world, and how CSA can help them adapt to and mitigate climate change. Developed by CIAT and CCAFS, in partnership with the World Bank, Costa Rica’s…

Climate-smart interventions in agriculture have varying costs and environmental and economic impacts. Their implementation requires appropriate investment decisions by policy makers that are relevant for current as well as future scenarios of agro-ecology, climate and economic development. Decision…

Restoring degraded land could inject $84 billion a year to the global economy, according to researchers, but public resources fall short of unlocking this potential.

30.6 MILLION PEOPLE DISPLACED INSIDE THEIR COUNTRY IN 2017

A free and evolving resource to empower informed discussion on sustainable food systems.

Most power generation consumes water, whether to cool steam in thermoelectric plants or power turbines for hydropower. And the global demand for both water and electricity will continue to increase substantially in the coming decades. Although growth is generally a good thing for the economy, it…

Soil pollution poses a worrisome threat to agricultural productivity, food safety, and human health, but far too little is known about the scale and severity of that threat, warns a new FAO report released today at the start of a global symposium. Industrialization, war, mining and the…

The newly released World Bank report, Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration, analyzes this recent phenomenon and projects forward to 2050. Focusing on three regions — Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America – the report warns that unless urgent climate and development…

The big heat is on the way. As the world warms, so will Europe’s drought risk, and its soils will turn increasingly dry.

Sub‐optimal land management practices are degrading soils and undermining food production. Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices can improve soil and enhance yields. This study identifies variations in SLM uptake, characterizing farmers most likely to use SLM practices, identifying when it…

Tourism 's climate footprint is formidable. The industry is not just big business, but a big carbon emitter as well, new research finds.

Where in the world will people’s lives be affected by water issues by the year 2050? What is the impact of the growing global population, further urbanisation and climate change on these water risks, the food supply and migration? This new report by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment…