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Earth Day 2023

Table of contents

The paper studied the evaluation index system of urban garden afforestation, ecological environment benefit and urban garden afforestation, furthering SDG 11, 5 and 9.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been recognized as a key technology in energy systems decarbonization. However, numerous attempts to deploy CCS failed, and the technology is still viewed as pre-commercial. Consequently, public investment in CCS has been largely limited to research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in capture technology.

The paper supports SDG 6 and 3 by discussing toxins in water and the risk of using contaminated water to process food.

Wetlands provide ∼$47.4 trillion/year worth of ecosystem services globally and support immense biodiversity, yet face widespread drainage and pollution, and large-scale wetlands restoration is urgently needed. Payment for ecosystem service (PES) schemes provide a viable avenue for funding large-scale wetland restoration. However, schemes around the globe differ substantially in their goals, structure, challenges, and effectiveness in supporting large-scale wetland restoration.

This article discusses the complex interactions between hazards and vulnerability

This Climate Countdown paper supports SDGs 3 and 13 by summarising procress through 27 climate indicators in China from 2021 to 2022.

This report supports SDGs 3 and 13 by monitoring and evaluating the effects of climate change on health in Europe, and the benefits to health of climate action. By tracking 33 indicators in a variety of domains, the report shows that climate-related health risks in Europe are accelerating, and current adapation and mitigation strategies are insufficient. Ambitious strategies are required to prevent worsening harms to human health.

This Article supports SDG 3 and 7 by estimating the prevalence of solid-fuel use with high spatial resolution to explore subnational inequalities, assess local progress, and assess the effects on health in LMICs without universal access to clean fuels.

Background: Identifying how greenspace impacts the temperature-mortality relationship in urban environments is crucial, especially given climate change and rapid urbanization. However, the effect modification of greenspace on heat-related mortality has been typically focused on a localized area or single country. This study examined the heat-mortality relationship among different greenspace levels in a global setting. Methods: We collected daily ambient temperature and mortality data for 452 locations in 24 countries and used Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) as the greenspace measurement.

This Article supports SDGs 3 and 13 by showing that plant-based beef alternatives could reduce the carbon footprint of the US food system, but highlights that reductions in other envirnmental dimensions are dependent on repurposing of resources.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by assessing policy frameworks for city planning for 25 cities across 19 countries to identify whether these policies support the creation of healthy and sustainable cities.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by identifying the minimum thresholds for urban design and transport features associated with two physical activity criteria: at least 80% probability of engaging in any walking for transport and WHO's target of at least 15% relative reduction in insufficient physical activity through walking.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by presenting an expanded framework of pathways through which city planning affects health, incorporating 11 integrated urban system policies and 11 integrated urban and transport interventions addressing current and emerging issues.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by calculating spatial indicators of urban design and transport features that support health and sustainability for 25 diverse cities in 19 countries.

Circular economy has provided the possibilities for recycling and sustainable management of plastic wastes.

Pollution by polymeric materials - in particular plastics - has a negative effect on the health of our planet. Approximately 4.9 billion tons of plastic are estimated to have been improperly disposed of, with the environment as their final destination. This scenario comes from a linear economic system, extraction-production-consumption and finally disposal.

This review compared the effects between bioplastics compared to conventional plastics. It found that bioplastics caused less harm and will help policymakers to determine whether bioplastics is beneficial to the environment.

This paper investigated the ways in which air pollution can be reduced through enhanced environmental sustainability by looking at groundwater, soil and stream sediment samples.

Plastic products have played significant roles in protecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread use of personal protective gear created a massive disruption in the supply chain and waste disposal system. Millions of discarded single-use plastics (masks, gloves, aprons, and bottles of sanitizers) have been added to the terrestrial environment and could cause a surge in plastics washing up the ocean coastlines and littering the seabed.

This article supports SDG's 13 and 15 by discussing the main findings from the Special Issue on the impact of global changes on soil biodiversity: from fauna, to fungi, soil organisms and microorganisms.

This article supports SDG's 3, 6, and 11 by illustrating the reduction of pollutants using various microbial techniques. Strategy and recommendations are summarized, along with the future prospects.

This article supports SDG's 2, 3 and 12 by considering production steps (cell extraction, cell line establishment, cell culture and scaffolding) and challenges (technology limitations, consumer acceptance & law and legislation) for the development of lLab-based meat, which is more sustainable and safer to consume than conventional meat.

This article supports SDG's 6, 11 and 15 through its discussion of the use of Phytoremediation as an economical and sustainable technology for environmental cleanup. Plant species known to utilize different phyto-mechanisms during phytoremediation of diverse pollutants are presented

This paper presents a literature review, describing the main research fields in agricultural land systems and their linkage with SDG 2, 3, and 15, namely the discrepancy in the percentage of publications by research field emphasizes the need for future studies to fulfil this gap because each domain has a vital role in providing knowledge to food security and the SDGs

All aspects of sustainable development - biodiversity, food production, water treatment, climate change, energy opimisation - in years to come will capitalize greatly on digitalization.

This study, which supports SDG's 13 and 15 looks at how important drivers like water level and bioturbation affect soil characteristics in the development of novel ecosystems aiming to improve the functioning of degraded landscapes.

The paper supports SDG3, 11 and 15 by discussing the air pollution and the study will assist urban planners, policymakers, and health sectors.

The recession and debt distress accompanying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pose serious threats to governments’ ability to invest in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, raising the specter of another lost decade for climate action. However, fiscal policy can be designed to simultaneously stabilize the economy and public finances while advancing sustainable development.

Biodiversity is in rapid decline, largely driven by habitat loss and degradation. Protected area establishment and management are widely used to maintain habitats and species in perpetuity. Protected area extent has increased rapidly in recent years with area-based targets set within international conservation agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11.

This article supports SDG 13 and 9 by investigating financial decision being made utilizing climate-risk assessments

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 7, 11, and 12 by discussing the concept of sustainability as it relates to sustainable energy development, and highlighting the various assessment methods that can be used

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 7, 11, and 12 by discussing the challenges and prospects of adopting renewable energy technologies, and making recommendations on the incentives and investment in research and development, market expansion, and the government's pro-active fiscal and monetary policy support to facilitate the rapid expansion of renewable energy in developing economies.

This chapter advances the UN SDG goal 13 for climate action, raising awareness of the impact of climate change to the planet as a whole

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by enabling the quantification of geomorphological changes in response to agricultural activities

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 11 and 12 by defining what is meant by a 'sustainable development' and describing the challenges inherent in planning one.

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 7 and 11 by explores a possible sustainable development: building wave-energy capture systems that can make a significant contribution, meaning at least 10% of a nation’s energy needs.

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 11 and 15 by discussing air pollution, ecosystem services, and the importance of vegetation as it assures pollution reduction services. Considering the essential role of cities in human life, it focuses on the benefits of urban vegetation as a leading ecosystem service provider, promoting awareness of the importance of natural elements for the urban environment.

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 12, 13 and 17 focussing on the restoration of biodiversity, which has become an international priority. Recognizing that it is difficult to determine when biodiversity has recovered, five indicators of recovery are proposed.

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by enabling the monitoring and characterisation of human impacts on the Earth

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by enabling environmental assessment through remote sensing technologies

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 11, 13, and 3 by discussing Remote Sensing-based strategies for managing land cover and ultimately mitigating anthropogenic heating and excess emission of GHG and pollutants by promoting green belts, vast plantation programs, and utilizing carbon-credit projects.

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 11, 13, and 3 by developing an integrated approach, including statistical data elaborations and microclimate simulations, to look at the impact of increasing the urban green infrastructure on the urban environment, air quality levels, and heat-related health responses.

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 11, 13, and 7 by discussing the Smart City potential for contributing to the reduction of external dependence on fossil fuels and the promotion of renewable energy sources and the mitigation of environmental impacts and effects of climate change.

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 11, 13, and 3 by discussing how urban reforestation could be among effective options for mitigating urban warming and climate change, further aiding planners and policy makers to create more sustainable and liveable cities.

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 7 and 11 by supporting clean and sustainable energy and power systems

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 13, 14, and 15 by examining mathematical computer models of biogeochemical processes of atmosphere, land, and oceans can be represente, used to describe the past, present, and future dynamics of the Earth's carbon cycle

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 13, 14, and 15 by examining the global distribution of carbon in biomass.

This chapter advances the UN SDG goals 11 and 13 by providing an introduction to climate change and how it drives extreme heat

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goal 12 by ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns

This chapter advances UN SDG goals 7 and 11 by supporting clean and sustainable energy and power systems

This article supports SDG's 13 and 15 by discussing the main findings from the Special Issue on the impact of global changes on soil biodiversity: from fauna, to fungi, soil organisms and microorganisms.

This short communication reports on a new research agenda for understanding and advancing Planet Health Equity (PHE).

This Article supports SDGs 3 and 13 by estimating how global income inequality might have to be reduced in order to ensure both decent living standards and reductions in global energy use for planetary health.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by calculating spatial indicators of urban design and transport features that support health and sustainability for 25 diverse cities in 19 countries.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by assessing policy frameworks for city planning for 25 cities across 19 countries to identify whether these policies support the creation of healthy and sustainable cities.

This Series paper supports SDG 3 and 11 by identifying the minimum thresholds for urban design and transport features associated with two physical activity criteria: at least 80% probability of engaging in any walking for transport and WHO's target of at least 15% relative reduction in insufficient physical activity through walking.

An investigation into a new integrated model for pricing and financing a sustainable supply chain that can reduce manufacturing costs and thus encourage better participation by producers in green projects.

This article highlights how urban forest management in the US helps achieve environmental justice, showing the contribution of urban forests to SDG10: reduced inequalities.

This article supports SDG 15 through its study of the effects of crop rotation on soil microorganisms and concluded that crop rotation could enhance soil microbial biomass and bacterial diversity, and the effect of crop rotation on soil phosphatase and β-glucosidase activity.

This study showed that agricultural intensification reduced fungal Shannon diversity and weakened soil multifunctionality, where fungal diversity was the major driver of soil multifunctionality. The Authors suggested that sustaining microbial diversity, especially fungal diversity can reduce the effect of agricultural intensification on soil multifunctionality.

This paper provides 57 site velocity measurements, with interpretation, for the Hatay Triple Junction in the region of the 6 February 2023 M 7.8 Pazarcik earthquake sequence in Southeastern Turkey. Given the significance of this earthquake sequence, and the potential uses for future earthquake predictions, this paper would apply to SDG 15 -Life on land.

Across the lower- and middle-income world, investors are acquiring rights to large swathes of land for agricultural development, threatening both existing livelihoods and the environment. The full weight of future impacts remains uncertain. But research on sustainable agriculture offers avenues to mitigate, diffuse, and avoid negative environmental and social consequences.

Rhode Island is the smallest and the second-most densely populated state in the USA. It is also one of the most severely affected states on the Eastern Seaboard due to Climate Change.

A Viewpoint on the interplay between social, climate, and health challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the context of SDGs 3, 10, and 13, highlighting the need to address these challenges with adaption and mitigation policies that prioritise people's health and wellbeing.

This article supports SDG 13 by demonstrating the climate change mitigation potential of different land-based options and highlighting the importance of analyzing their implications for biodiversity and other ecosystem services to support the design of solutions that can co-deliver for multiple challenges.

The research seeks to estimate biogas production potential from livestock and slaughterhouse wastes in Ghana, in order to promote biogas technology as a possible alternative in the search for sustainable energy management methods and in support of the SDG goals.

This article supports SDG 2, SDG 3 and SDG 13 by demonstrating the importance of enhancing farmers’ perceptions of of Climate-Smart Agriculture potential to promote environmental stewardship with motivations by demographic, socioeconomic and ecological factors.

This article discusses how adaptation strategies affect risk in the case of compound extreme weather events

This article supports SDG 13 and 9 by providing exploring the estimation of the role of the studied species as sinks of atmospheric carbon.

This Article supports SDG 3, 7, and 8 by showing an inverse association between air pollution attributed to disease burden and gross state domestic product for most states in India, thus highlighting the need to curtail air pollution attributed to disease burden in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.

A technology that has shown promising potential in supporting food and energy security, as well as supporting water security, is agrivoltaic (AV) systems.

This article supports SDGs 8, 7, and 13 by incorporating investment portfolio analysis into three different energy-economy models to examine the climate employment co-benefits of green recovery packages in six major emitting regions.

This article supports SDG 6, 3, 9 by exploring the diversity and ecology of freshwater diatom as bioindicators of 6 major freshwater ponds of Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu

Biomass is a sustainable and review source. However, its conversion to chemicals is always challenging. This article produces high-value bioadhesive materials as a byproduct of chemicals from biomass. Using advanced technology such as electrochemical oxidation, clean energy and fuels can be produced from biomass, addressing SDG 7&13.

This study supports SDG's 9 and 13 through its discussion of the effects of optimizing Municipal Solid Waste management systems by increasing waste collection coverage and implementing diverse streams of waste valorization, causing a decrease of atmospheric pollution.

Electromobility is the future main system for Swedish road transport that encourage sustainable urban transportation. However, emission impacts of applying electric vehicles (EVs) are currently controversial. This study evaluates and compares internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) refer to both petrol and diesel-based engines and BEVs, focusing on environmental and energy impacts.

This article supports SDG 11 introducing innovative practice for urban development projects.

The research investigates whether the current feed-in tariff (FIT) policy in Hong Kong SAR can ensure the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Many of the forests of the world are parts of complex landscapes that include intact native forests, forests utilized by communities, and agricultural lands. Understanding ecosystem services at the scale of landscapes benefits from careful consideration of transitions among these land uses, and this article examines these topics for landscapes in Peru and the Philippines.

This article supports SDG 13 and 15 by showing that fulfillment of the global climate pledges would result in increased forest land on the Tibetan Plateau

In this paper the authors analyze the impact of the Glasgow COP26 agreements on commitments from the Paris climate agreement

The paper discusses the progress of SDGs Life on Land and Life below water over the past decade

This article supports SDGs 9, 11, and 17 by illustrating the opportunity for the use of electric powered vehicles as an energy source during natural disaster events.

In this paper the authors investigate the effects of climate changed and hydroclimatic extremes on hydropower production in India

This article supports SDG 2, SDG 3, and SDG 13 by demonstrating the economic benefits of wind energy development to the local individuals and communities.

This Article supports SDGs 3 and 13 by estimating cost and benefits of climate change mitigation, focussing on heat-related labour losses and considering current mitigation pledges.

This Personal View supports SDGs 3 and 13 by demonstrating a framework for how health-care professionals can promote decarbonisation by influencing the social and policy landscape

In this paper the authors show how the heterogeneity in cities means that individual cities need specific low-carbon roadmaps, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach

Studies on the distribution of microplastics in aquatic environments are summarized and environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting microplastic toxicity are reviewed

This paper shows that although climate policies can sometimes slow the pace of economic growth, in the long term the benefits of avoided climate change impacts will overweight policy costs

This paper identifies the socioeconomic and ecological factors that can stimulate the implementation of Nature Based Solutions in developing economies

The editorial calls for action to reduce noise pollution that has detrimental impact on humans, terrestrial and marine life

This article supports SDG 2, SDG 3 and SDG 15 by highlighting the win-win solutions for national parks to both protect nature and improve local people's wellbeing.

This articles supports SDGs 13, 11 and 2 by discussing the need for feasibility studies to be completed to determine their effect on net greenhouse gas emissions before using novel energy crops to produce bioenergy.

The research promotes not only a transition towards sustainability but also the emergence of a city-river balance.

This paper focuses on the impact of epidemic situation on carbon emissions in different provinces of China and provide different emission reduction directions and measures for carbon emission research in different provinces.

This Article supports SDGs 7, 11, and 8 by presenting an alternative means of agricultural transport utilizing solar-powered farm rickshaws versus the traditional fossil fuel vehicles.

Enormous amounts of agri-food waste are generated in the open market, especially in sub-Saharan African cities. This work reports the system optimisation of the management of these open-market food wastes for producing bioenergy and value-added materials and also evaluates the environmental impacts of the selected waste processing routes. It supports decision-making on the management of food waste in developing countries furthering SDG 7, 8 &13.

The effects of forest harvesting are very evident aboveground, with clear contrasts between areas that are clearcut and those that are managed with some degree of retention of old trees.  The implications for the belowground portions of forest ecosystems are difficult to see, but fundamental to the future development of the recovering forest.

Reducing emissions and improving environmental conditions are now a global priority for promoting sustainable growth and preventing the adverse consequences of global warming and climate change.

This article supports SDGs 11, 6, and 13 by analyzing the impact of Denver Water's annual energy use and water use alongside local precipitation over a 20-year period from 1995 to 2014 and highlighting the implications for altered energy footprints as water utilities respond to new precipitation patterns in a changing climate.

In this paper the authors discuss the geothermal potential of sedimentary basins, and their role in achieving the decarbonisation of the energy sector

This article supports SDG 13 and SDG 15 by demonstrating the people's willingness to pay for ecosystem services on the Tibetan Plateau of China and highlighting the significance of people's knowledge and attitude as direct driving factors for payment amount.

Valuable chemicals can be produced from agricultural apple fruit waste, which needs to be well managed and has the potential to improve sustainability. This article uses a low-cost catalyst to enhance the efficiency of chemical production from apple fruit waste. This work contributes to affordable energy production, economic growth and CO2 emissions reduction, which are related to SDG 7, 8 &13, respectively.