This study employs a novel biodiversity risk measure, developed through textual analysis, to examine how biodiversity risk affects socially responsible investment (SRI) and commodity markets. Biodiversity-related financial risks, arising from ecosystem degradation, represent an emerging and underexplored dimension of market risk, particularly for investors seeking sustainability-aligned portfolios. Our analysis reveals that both SRI equity and commodity indices consistently exhibit negative time-varying correlations with biodiversity risk, with correlations as low as -0.62 for the FTSE4Good US 100 and -0.53 for the FTSE4Good Global 100. Similarly, commodities like silver, gold, crude oil, and wheat also show negative correlations with biodiversity risk. These findings indicate that neither asset class serves as a reliable hedge against biodiversity-related shocks. Furthermore, biodiversity risk has a significant long-term spillover effect on SRI equity and commodity market returns. As biodiversity risk increases, it strengthens the connectedness between these markets, thereby amplifying the transmission of risk across them. These findings highlight the need for new risk management strategies and regulatory frameworks that account for biodiversity risk, opening new research pathways in finance and environmental sustainability.

The U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management regulates oil and gas development on 23 million acres of U.S. public land. The land disturbances associated with oil and gas development result in lost ecosystem service costs (LESC). LESC vary with the restorative characteristics of the land being developed, the duration of oil and gas production, the reclamation efforts that occur during production and the restoration occurring post-production. In order to understand the range and magnitude of LESC, we developed a model to quantify cumulative LESC totals for terrestrial ecosystems for 32 scenarios on a per acre basis. Total LESC calculated with a 0% discount rate range from $26,051 to $250,709 per acre depending on the years of energy production, interim reclamation rates and final restoration rates. LESC totals are lower when quantified at discount rates of 2, 4 and 10%. Internalizing LESC compensates public landowners and creates financial incentives for oil and gas companies (OGC) to reduce the initial disturbance footprint, invest in reclamation to reduce the footprint over time and to decrease the years of energy production in order to reduce the number of years between reclamation and final restoration. Charging impact fees for LESC would generate billions of dollars in revenue.

The relentless surge in carbon emissions is exacting a devastating toll on human wellbeing, critical infrastructure, and natural ecosystems, leaving a stark and distressing legacy of destruction. Communities worldwide are reeling from the impacts of pervasive smog, record-breaking wildfires, and deadly heatwaves-manifestations of a climate crisis that grows more severe by the day. Once a vanguard of environmental policy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) now struggles with exceeding emissions targets, eroding its credibility and influence. Fragmented implementation of key frameworks-such as Inclusive Green Growth, the Circular Economy, and Energy Transition-has undermined their impact. The urgency of the moment was underscored by the report of COP29, which issued an unequivocal call to action for OECD nations to step up and lead with ambitious, unified strategies. Embracing inclusive green growth (IGG)-a paradigm that harmonizes economic development with environmental sustainability and social equity-offers a clear path forward. By integrating these elements into a cohesive response, the OECD can reignite its leadership role and drive meaningful progress toward a sustainable future. This paper advocates for a unified strategy integrating IGG, CE, and ET to achieve carbon neutrality. It introduces a streamlined environmental model designed to assess the effectiveness of this integrated approach rigorously. Drawing on data from 24 countries between 2000 and 2020, and employing advanced time series and dynamic analysis, this study offers theoretical and empirical insights into the interactions among the key variables. The results show that integrated policies significantly enhance the effectiveness of green growth and energy transitions, ensuring equitable benefits across all societal segments, including marginalized communities. By addressing the complex, interrelated nature of sustainability challenges, these policies offer a robust framework consolidating diverse perspectives and expertise, driving transformative and profound change.

The growth of population and changes in dietary structure have led to a continuous increase in demand for livestock and poultry products, resulting in the increase of the gaseous reactive nitrogen (GNr) emissions from livestock and poultry breeding systems and posing a threat to the human and ecosystem health. The characteristics from GNr emissions of six livestock and poultry breeding systems at the provincial level of China in 2020 were evaluated with the framework of life cycle analysis. Additionally, this study explored the impact of silage maize replacing traditional maize as feed on reducing GNr emissions. The GNr emissions from producing 1 ton of beef were the highest, approximately 9 times higher than those from producing 1 ton of milk. The GNr emissions for production of 1 ton of pork and egg were the biggest in Zhejiang. And the biggest emissions for 1 ton of beef, mutton, chicken and milk production were in Xizang, Shaanxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi, respectively. The total GNr emissions from pork production were highest. Compared with other stages, the stages of manure management and feed production contributed the majority of GNr emissions. Assuming that all the feed crops required for the production of livestock and poultry products in 2020 were locally grown, the total GNr emissions from the production of livestock and poultry products of China in 2020 were 6143.94ktN, indicated that local emissions in China only accounted for 57.90%. Moreover, when the substitution rate of silage maize reached 100%, the GNr emissions from livestock and poultry breeding systems would be reduced by 10.05% (324.98ktN). This study provided a detailed and spatial overview of the GNr emissions in livestock and poultry production in China, which could support reducing GNr emissions in livestock and poultry breeding systems for decision-makers and air pollution control.

Species-rich grasslands of temperate Europe are threatened by the spread and increasing dominance of the rhizomatous grass Calamagrostis epigejos. Native hemiparasitic Rhinanthus species have been proposed as biocontrol to suppress C. epigejos, but experimental evidence is limited. We conducted a series of experiments at 21 grassland sites in Central Europe encroached by C. epigejos to test the effects of Rhinanthus on C. epigejos and on plant and arthropod communities and compare them to the effects of mowing applied once or twice a year. Rhinanthus suppressed Calamagrostis epigejos significantly more than mowing. Mowing frequency and Rhinanthus sowing had synergistic effects, leading to an average 75% reduction of C. epigejos biomass in Rhinanthus plots that were mown twice during the three-to four-year experimental period. The effect was more pronounced at sites in dry climates. Both Rhinanthus and mowing significantly increased plant diversity. Rhinanthus plots mown twice changed most rapidly towards the target grassland vegetation. The abundance and species richness of arachnids and Auchenorrhyncha were generally higher in abandoned plots than in plots with active management. Rhinanthus plots harboured fewer grass-feeding insects but more forb-associated herbivorous Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera species and several heliophilous spiders. Our experiment showed that Rhinanthus spp., in combination with mowing, is an efficient and widely applicable method to reverse the encroachment of C. epigejos into grasslands and restore the diversity of infested plant communities. Active management measures also trigger a species turnover of arthropod communities, reflecting changes in grassland vegetation and arthropod guild species pools.

Intensive tillage operations often disrupt soil structure and accelerate the decomposition of organic matter, resulting in negative long-term impacts on soil health. Thus, identifying sustainable tillage practices is key for enhancing soil nutrient cycling and improving soil biochemical and biological properties. This study evaluated the effects of five tillage modes on soil quality and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) over three years in the North China Plain, where rotary tillage (RT) has degraded soil structure and hindered wheat yield increases. The treatments combined deep tillage (DT), RT, and shallow rotary tillage (SRT): (1) RT-RT-RT; (2) DT-RT-RT; (3) DT-RT-SRT; (4) DT-SRT-SRT; (5) DT-SRT-RT. Measurements included soil nutrients, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (Cmic and Nmic), enzyme activities, soil quality index (SQI), EMF, across 0-50cm soil layers, as well as crop yields. We found that DT significantly improved various soil properties compared to continuous RT, thereby improving crop yield. In the first year of the cycle, DT increased available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), potassium (K), Cmic, Nmic, enzyme activities, SQI, and EMF in the 20-40cm soil layer. These improvements persisted in the following two years. Compared to RT-RT-RT, the largest increases in SQI (13.0%-22.2%) and EMF (11.2%-126.9%) were found in the 0-30cm layer under DT-SRT-RT. Random forest analysis identified Cmic, AN, AP, Corg, and Ntotal as key EMF drivers. Meanwhile, wheat yield under DT-SRT-RT was 14.6% higher than under RT-RT-RT. These findings demonstrate that incorporating occasional DT enhances soil properties and crop yields, offering a sustainable strategy for cropping system management.

In order to make the transition from a linear to a circular economy, unprecedented measures are required from all social actors. Communication plays a fundamental role in this transition. The use of social marketing as an alternative to traditional communication models can promote the paradigm shift in order to increase communicative effectiveness. Understanding the perception of circular economy drivers is crucial for communication efforts aimed at persuading citizens to change their habits. To this end, this study analyzes drivers' perceptions of communication processes aimed at environmental awareness and sensitization. Using grounded theory, a qualitative methodology, 44 interviews were conducted with four groups that are considered promoters of the circular economy: Public administration and private enterprises representatives, university professors and scientific personnel. The actors' discourse was analyzed and the results show how they perceive their involvement in the transition process, the level of public awareness and the awareness-raising measures. The conclusion is: a) communication plays a fundamental role in fostering cooperation between all actors involved in the transition to a circular economy; b) communication strategies targeting society should be segmented by population groups, taking into account aspects such as area, age and level of awareness.

Through a natural experiment setting in Hong Kong, this study examines the effects of financial incentives and nudges on consumer choices among three types of coffee cups: bring-your-own-cup (BYOC), shop-provided reusable cups, and disposable cups. Our dataset comprises 223 structured observations of coffee shops with 522 data points. The financial incentive-a direct price instrument set as a discount-is offered exclusively to customers who bring their own cups, while shop-provided (reusable) cups are not eligible. The results indicate that a financial incentive is not associated with a positive change in the behavior of the rewarded consumers: In this study, the discount does not significantly encourage consumers to bring their own cups. However, we find negative effects related to the choice of cup by consumers not rewarded by the incentive: A negative spillover effect emerges: consumers who have not brought their cups and thus who do not qualify for the discount are more likely to choose disposable cups. These findings highlight the limited effectiveness of financial incentives and nudges in reducing disposable cup usage and suggest the need for broader strategies to encourage sustainable consumption.

The excessive nutrient loading in lakes and reservoirs poses significant threats to water quality and ecological health, especially under the influence of global climate change and intensified human activities. This study focuses on the long-term trends in nutrient content and ratios, as well as their driving factors in six major lakes and reservoirs (Chaohu Lake, Danjiangkou Reservoir, Dianchi Lake, Dongtinghu Lake, Poyanghu Lake, and Taihu Lake) within the Yangtze River Catchment from 2002 to 2021. Utilizing Redundancy Analysis, Random Forest and Generalized Additive Model, we identify the shifts in natural and socio-economic factors influencing nutrient concentrations and predict future trends under various scenarios. The main driving factors of nutrient content and their ratios have undergone significant changes at different historical stages, with livestock poultry breeding (LPB) and hydraulic retention time (Res_time) being consistently influential. Our findings highlight the dominant role of livestock and poultry breeding and hydraulic retention time in shaping TN content, whereas TP levels are significantly affected by both natural factors (Temperature and Rainfall) and socio-economic activities. Scenario analyses reveal that despite improvements in water management, nutrient loads remain high, posing ongoing risks of eutrophication. Future lakes nutrient content can meet existing water quality standards under socio-economic development scenarios that significantly reduce hydraulic retention time and the contributions of livestock poultry breeding and other socio-economic drivers.

Terrestrial ecosystem carbon sinks are a natural deposit that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. A stable land carbon sink facilitates more reliable predictions of carbon sequestration under changing climate conditions. In contrast, a highly variable land carbon sink will introduce significant uncertainty into model predictions. Karst regions have attracted increasing attention due to their significant contribution to global land carbon sequestration capacity. However, understanding the stability of land carbon sinks and its driving factors in karst areas remains limited. This study focused on the world's largest karst zone, located in Southwest China (SWC), to assess the stability of land carbon sinks. By analyzing inter-annual variation (IAV) in net ecosystem productivity (NEP), we aimed to elucidate the spatial distribution of the stability of land carbon sinks and the dominant climatic drivers. We compared the stability of land carbon sinks across bedrocks, which were classified by carbonate content: non-karst, Discontinuous Carbonate Rocks (DCR), and Continuous Carbonate Rocks (CCR). Our findings showed that while land carbon sinks in karst bedrocks exhibited higher increased NEP rates than those in non-karst areas. Notably, we observed an inverse relationship between the rate and stability-regions with rapid land carbon sink enhancement were often characterized by instability, particularly in karst areas. Moreover, the drivers of the stability of land carbon sinks varied significantly between bedrock types. In non-karst regions, water availability was the primary factor influencing stability, whereas temperature was more dominant in karst regions. DCR regions showed lower stability due to the high sensitivity of land carbon sinks to temperature, while CCR regions experienced reduced stability linked to greater temperature variability. Our results highlight the need to consider the combined effects of bedrock type and climate factors on stability, offering valuable insights for managing and enhancing carbon sequestration capacity in a changing environment.