Extreme and unusual trends continue in 2017. The year 2016 made history, with a record global temperature, exceptionally low sea ice, and unabated sea level rise and ocean heat, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Extreme weather and climate conditions have continued into 2017…

Our sustainability reports and publications highlight some of the best examples of sustainability leadership that have emerged over the past few years and explore new ideas and approaches that have the potential to deliver transformational change.

Resetting the future of food is possible and with this aim, the Barilla Foundation and Food Tank presented concrete solutions to rethink our food systems from farm to fork. The event highlighted the critical role of farmers in feeding the world and managing natural resources; food business in…

This special site features a collection of recently published Open Access books on Environmental Sciences. Browse all the books to find your favorites and download the titles or chapters to your personal devices!

Intensifying water constraints threaten food security and nutrition. Thus, urgent action is needed to make water use in agriculture more sustainable and equitable. Irrigated agriculture remains by far the largest user of freshwater, but scarcity of freshwater is a growing problem owing to increasing…

Large parts of Southern Europe have suffered from drought this summer as a result of ruthless heat and low rainfall. A new near-real-time soil moisture data set developed as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) uses space-derived information to support drought…

Transforming food systems under a changing climate is an initiative led by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) together with a wide range of partners that aims to realize a transformation in food systems by mobilizing knowledge and catalyz-ing action…

In the report “Towards our common digital future”, the WBGU makes it clear that sustainability strategies and concepts need to be fundamentally further developed in the age of digitalization. Only if digital change and the Transformation towards Sustainability are synchronized can we succeed in…

SOIL is an international scientific journal dedicated to the publication and discussion of high-quality research in the field of soil system sciences. SOIL is at the interface between the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. SOIL publishes scientific research that contributes to…

Scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, released today. Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of…

ODI has conducted 50 case studies in order to draw a number of lessons on how to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, which are put forth in a three-part series of blogs on the Development Progress project.

The list of the world’s largest 500 companies by turnover contains a huge number of firms engaged in agriculture and food. And the trend continues towards a further concentration of power. Agrifood corporations are driving industrialization along the entire global value chain, from farm to plate…

Drought and unsustainable practices are placing forests at risk, yet they are crucial to the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming. Researchers have reminded the world’s governments that forests will play a vital role in mitigating the effects of climate change –…

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…

Frank, relevant and candid dialogue is fundamental to resolving conflict and transforming societies. The Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa is an annual meeting that brings together African leaders and stakeholders to engage and explore African-led security solutions. Currently in its 6th…

A new data visualization shows how the climate emergency is converging with other threats to drive new displacement and increase the vulnerability of those already forced to flee.

Suddenly, a drought-stricken African region could benefit from a Sahel monsoon, with climate change storm clouds breaking over Chad and Mali.

More than 4000 young people across 27 West African cities were interviewed to ask How is life in your city?

2017 is a defining year for the partnership between Europe and Africa. In a rapidly changing global landscape, Africa is experiencing profound economic, political and societal changes, and its importance to the internal and external dimensions of Europe's security and prosperity is becoming ever…

Climate change and extreme weather are threatening human health and safety, food, water and energy security and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The impacts span the entire region, including Andean peaks, mighty river basins and low-lying islands, according to a new report from…

There has been growing concern that both intensive agriculture in the developed world and rapid expansion of crop cultivation in developing countries is damaging the health of soils which are the foundation of farming. At the same time we are discovering much more about how complex soils are as…

An estimated 931 million tons of food, metric tonnes that is, or 17 per cent of all food available to consumers in 2019, went into the trash of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services. That’s according to a new report by UNEP. To give you an idea, this amount roughly equals 23…

A first atlas to offer a better understanding of complex rural migration patterns in sub-Saharan Africa has been published today. The atlas – Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration south of the Sahara – also highlights the important role rural areas will continue to play in…

Rising temperatures and more extreme, unpredictable climate events are making sustainable livelihoods tough for many people living in semi-arid regions of the world. To adapt, local communities, and especially farmers, use different strategies and responses. Research in India and Africa shows that…

The Sahara Desert has expanded by about 10 percent since 1920, according to a new study by University of Maryland scientists. The research is the first to assess century-scale changes to the boundaries of the world's largest desert and suggests that other deserts could be expanding as well. The…