The top 20 meat and dairy corporations emit more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than Germany, as our fact sheet shows. The authors note that commitments made by governments meeting in Bonn to keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degree or even 2 degrees will not be possible without addressing the…

Map cultural landscapes and visualise landscapes dynamics and practices

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…

When people are forced to leave their homes, they usually also leave behind their means of economic activity. In their new location, they may not be able, or permitted, to work. This has wide-ranging implications. This issue includes 22 articles on the main feature theme of Economies: rights and…

The report — Mechanized: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture Value Chains—summarizes the findings of a systematic analysis of what countries at the forefront of progress in mechanization have done right. It analyzes which policy decisions were taken and which interventions were implemented to…

A new report analyses how the transition to a low-carbon economy – and the minerals and metals required to make that shift – could affect fragility, conflict, and violence dynamics in mineral-rich states. Could the pursuit of one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) jeopardize the success of another…

Globalization increases the interconnectedness of people and places around the world. In a connected world, goods and services consumed in one country are often produced in other countries and exchanged via international trade. Thus, local consumption is increasingly met by global supply chains…

The way we produce and consume food is changing, and fast. Producers must leverage modern farming techniques, factories must revolutionise the way they plan, and produce supply chains must be completely overhauled to account for years like 2018, which saw the Beast from the East give way to the…

A major challenge of our time is to produce sufficient nutrient‐rich food for the ever‐growing human population with limited land resources. There is a huge gap between current yields and genetic potential in many crops, which can be narrowed by enhancing land productivity. High‐input cropping…

The trick to boosting crops in drought-prone, food-insecure areas of West Africa could be a ubiquitous native shrub that persists in the toughest of growing conditions. Growing these shrubs side-by-side with the food crop millet increased millet production by more than 900 percent, according to a…

North Africa was the birthplace of the Arab uprisings in late 2010. This movement affected all the countries in the region, albeit to varying degrees. And while protestors asked in unison for deep political and economic changes, the various governments in North Africa responded differently to their…

While the modern agricultural system has helped stave off famines and feed the world’s 7 billion residents, the way we eat and produce food is posing a threat to future populations’ food security. With an expected increase in population to 10 billion in 2050, ensuring food security is more important…

The Paris Agreement introduced an ambitious goal of limiting warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Here we combine a review of modelled pathways and literature on mitigation strategies, and develop a land-sector roadmap of priority measures and regions that can help to achieve the 1.5 °C…

Africa’s economic growth has stabilized at 3.4 percent in 2019 and is expected to pick up to 3.9 percent in 2020 and 4.1 percent in 2021 but to remain below historical highs. Growth’s fundamentals are also improving, with a gradual shift from private consumption toward investment and exports. For…

Last year, droughts devastated staple food crops across the developing world, cutting production by about half in some countries. A stream of reports from Central America, Eastern and Southern Africa as well as the Asia-Pacific region painted a grim picture of suffering and upheaval. Poor harvests…

Drought “is the death of the earth,” wrote the poet T. S. Eliot. A lack of water withers crops, kills trees, and dries up streams and lakes. Humans have long tried to cope by migrating to wetter regions or inventing new ways of moving water to where it is needed, including by pumping it out of the…

Original Research Article published in the latest Journal of Arid Environments

Land-use change is one of the most important anthropogenic environmental change drivers affecting the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems.

THE 2016 NEW CLIMATE ECONOMY REPORT. Investing in sustainable infrastructure is key to tackling the three central challenges facing the global community: reigniting growth, delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals, and reducing climate risk in line with the Paris Agreement. A comprehensive…

The Sixth Global Forum on Gender Statistics discussed ways to improve the collection, production, dissemination and use of data on gender to support progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls). The UN Statistics…

Opportunities for growth and development, even in regions vulnerable to drought, will open up if water is sufficiently available.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has produced the report, 'Energy, Climate Change and Environment 2016 Insights'. This report also looks at building climate resilience in the energy sector, and using tracking tools and metrics to monitor the progress of energy sector decarbonization. Finally…

Charcoal has been an important source of energy for centuries and remains so today; projections indicate that demand will continue to increase, especially in Africa. In many countries, however, a lack of regulation means that the charcoal sector is inefficient and can have locally and nationally…

The EEA report ‘Renewable energy in Europe 2017: recent growth and knock-on effects,’ shows that renewables have become a major contributor to the energy transition occurring in many parts of Europe. Growth in renewables continues to bolster climate change mitigation in the EU.

Living trees are unlikely source of methane. Scientists have long been aware of a forest's ability to absorb carbon, but a new US study has discovered trees that emit methane.