Flood-risk management strategies are increasingly incorporating equity considerations, but measuring equity poses challenges. This study maps observed equity indicators to a taxonomy to help analysts develop robust evidence about equity when managing uneven exposure to environmental harms.

Malaria remains a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examines the use of a long-acting endectocide formulation given to livestock as a measure to control mosquito vector populations that transmit the malaria-causing parasite in Burkina Faso.

Stricter regulations on ship-induced air pollution have triggered the installation of ship exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers), but these scrubbers pollute the seas. A study shows that the private economic benefits of installing scrubbers come at the expense of marine environmental damage and that the scrubber systems are paid off in only a few years.

The rapid expansion of low-carbon technologies in Brazil has multiple socio-economic impacts on rural populations by further fuelling competition for land and intensifying large-scale land deals. This study traces how global ownership of, and investment in, wind and solar photovoltaic installations has evolved over time, driving substantial privatization of public and common lands.

Narco trafficking and subsequent counter-drug interdiction strategies can lead to loss of biodiverse forests, which are important habitats for resident and migratory bird species. This study evaluates how such activities can threaten the bird habitat in Central American forests.

National and international policies have aimed to protect the quality of freshwater by mitigating agricultural nitrogen emissions. However, the nitrogen legacy in groundwater must be accounted for when mitigating the impacts of nitrogen in watersheds.

Meeting future energy demands in Africa will require expanded hydropower capacity, but the dams’ impacts on rivers, their emissions and alternative energy options call for careful planning. This study performs multi-objective energy system modelling for more sustainable dam expansion from the present to 2050.

Effective water management requires reliable data on streamflow, but that hinges on the coverage provided by stream gauges. This study shows how current gauge networks fail to provide adequate coverage and explores how modified networks could support dam operation, biodiversity conservation and climate monitoring.

The booming production of silicon solar panels, a core technology in the energy transition, calls for proper end-of-life management. Here the authors propose a salt-etching approach that enables efficient recycling of critical materials from end-of-life silicon solar panels, without the use of toxic reagents.

Rapid urbanization affects both local food and ecological systems in Africa. This study integrates the effects of land-use displacement and dietary shifts associated with urbanization in scenarios of future food demand to understand the impact of future urbanization on the African environment.

The pervasive contamination of ecosystems with active pharmaceutical ingredients poses a serious threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services and public health. Urgent action is needed to design greener drugs that maintain efficacy but also minimize environmental impact.

Transitioning to a more sustainable economic system hinges on creating jobs in support of greener activities, with challenges for incumbent workers. A suite of articles highlights the need for more sustainable jobs and how to overcome the associated research gaps and political obstacles.

Although research has consistently shown that managing natural resources more sustainably is both feasible and beneficial for jobs and livelihoods, the perception that the green transition leads to job losses prevails. We recommend strategies for wider and better communicating evidence, to decision-makers across the board, about what is needed to reap job benefits from a green transition.

Scaling up adoption of green technologies in energy, mobility, construction, manufacturing and agriculture is imperative to set countries on a sustainable development path, but that hinges on having the right workforce, argues Jonatan Pinkse.

Apprehensions about job losses in incumbent industries can hold up sustainability transformations unless policymakers bolster efforts towards job reskilling programmes, argues Marko Hekkert.

As carbon capture and sequestration enter the mainstream, governments and developers grapple with the long-term liability for sequestered carbon. A multi-tiered framework with public–private sharing of risk can help promote the safe and timely deployment of this vital decarbonization technology.