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SOLAS, IMBeR and GCP co-authors of the IOC-UNESCO Report on Integrated Ocean Carbon Research
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published a report on Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: A Summary of Ocean Carbon Knowledge and a Vision for Coordinated Ocean Carbon Research and Observations for the Next Decade. Three Future Earth GRPs (GCP, IMBeR and SOLAS) worked with other projects to present a synthesis of the state of knowledge about the oceans’ role in the carbon cycle and pointed to the way ahead. The report aims to provide decision-makers with the knowledge needed to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation policies for the coming decade. Read the report here.
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SOLAS Co-sponsored Workshop on ‘Iron at the Air-Sea Interface'
The SOLAS co-sponsored workshop on 'Iron at the Air-Sea Interface' will be organized from 26-30 July 2021 both online and onsite in Asheville, NC, USA. This workshop is dedicated to an improved understanding of how bioaccessible labile iron moves across the ocean-atmosphere interface and becomes bioavailable for uptake in the ocean at scales important for ocean ecosystems and the carbon cycle. The registration will be open until 25 June 2021. Find more here.
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Knowledge-Action Networks
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New Publication by the SSCP KAN: Sustainable Consumption Communication: A Review of an Emerging Field of Research
In a newly published open access paper, members of the SSCP KAN working group, “communication,” review sustainable consumption communication as a field of research. They found that an instrumental focus on incremental behavior change (“weak” sustainable consumption) dominates the current literature, with one-way business-to-consumer communication as the most prevalent form. They suggest ways in which the use of communication for deliberation and systemic change can be expanded in future research efforts. Read more about the paper here.
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Commentary in Nature by Risk KAN: More floods, fires and cyclones — plan for domino effects on sustainability goals
Cascades of extreme events could hinder reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as explained by Risk KAN members in Nature. Extreme weather hazards increase with climate change, and can fuel a vicious circle of physical, social and economic vulnerabilities as risks interact across many environmental and social systems. Improved systemic risk modelling strategies including AI-based understanding of vulnerabilities as well as precautionary investments will pay off by increasing resilience. Read the commentary here.
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Highlights (In Case You Missed It)
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Antarctica could Reach a Climate Tipping Point by 2060
According to the new study published in the journal Nature, Antarctica could reach a tipping point by 2060 if emissions continue at a current pace. That means the world will see sea level rise which will not be reversible on human timescales. At that point, it will be too late to decrease emissions and will not stop the ice loss. Moreover, by 2100, sea level rise could speed up 10 times more than today. New research shows our choices today will change the future of coastal cities from New York to Shanghai. Read more here.
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Research Bytes from Anthropocene Magazine
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Societies have Reshaped Landscapes for Thousands of Years. So Why is the Anthropocene so Destructive?
In the modern environmental imagination, a biodiverse landscape is often associated with a pristine one, untouched by humans. But a new study suggests that societies have used the majority of land on Earth for thousands of years without causing massive species declines. If humans have reshaped ecosystems for centuries, what’s changed in the Anthropocene to amount to so much biodiversity loss? Read more...
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In a Big Step towards Sustainable Fashion, Scientists Create a Biodegradable, Carbon-capturing Textile from Algae
Algae, simple aquatic plants that include pond scum and seaweed, are an important source of food, cosmetic additives, and fertilizers. They are also a promising source for making biofuels and bioplastics. And now, sustainable clothes. Researchers have used 3D printing to make a tough, sustainable material from algae that could be used to make clothes and labels. Because the material, reported in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, is made of living, breathing algae, clothing made from it would be photosynthetic, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and breathing out oxygen just like plants. Plus, the material is easy to make on a large scale and is biodegradable. Read more...
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Solar Farms can Create Crucial Pollinator Habitat
As the cost of solar panels has gone down, the benefits of installing them have gone up. But one potentially overlooked benefit comes from what happens below the panels. Some farmers and solar panel developers are growing pollinator plants in the shade cast by the panels. But until recently researchers hadn’t confirmed if cover from the sun was helping cultivate pollinator habitat or not. Now they’ve found that the partial shading by solar panels delays bloom and increases floral abundance during the late‑season for pollinators. Read more...
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Putting a Sustainable Diet in Context Generates Some Surprises
If you had to design a healthy diet that also had the lowest possible impact on the planet, what would it look like? To help consumers answer this fraught and bewildering question, researchers have built a new tool to help users map a personalised, low-impact diet, which is described in a new study. In the process, they’ve challenged some deep-rooted preconceptions about what a planet-healthy diet should actually contain—namely by showing that plant-based diets aren’t always the most sustainable default, and importing foods in some cases actually has a lower footprint than eating locally. Read more...
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To see more upcoming events, and share your own, join the Future Earth Membership Portal.
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Webinar: Future Impact of Climate Change on Newborns
When: 15:00-16:00 (CEST), 3 June 2021
The Risk KAN Modeling and Insurance group will organize a webinar on 3 June from 3-4 pm (CEST). Wim Thiery (Vrije University Brussel) will talk about the future impact of climate change on newborns. You can find more details about the speaker and registration for the event here.
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Call for Contributions: the German Sustainability Science Summit 2021
Closes: 6 June 2021
The German Sustainability Science Summit 2021 will take place as an interactive virtual online event on 8 & 9 July 2021. The summit continues the bi-annual series of the German Future Earth Summits organized by the German Committee Future Earth (Deutsches Komitee für Nachhaltigkeitsforschung, DKN). The summit opened a call for posters, oral and written contributions for different sessions. Please find further details on the summit program and the call for contributions on the summit website. Registration will be open from 18 to 28 June 2021.
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Future Earth Vacancy: Senior Science Officer (Paris, France)
Closes: 10 June 2021
The Paris Hub of the Future Earth Secretariat is seeking a Senior Science Officer to lead its engagement at the science-policy interface. The call will be closed as soon as a candidate is successful, and no later than 10 June 2021. The Senior Science Officer will work in a dynamic international setting on a range of issues. The primary responsibilities of the Senior Science Officer will be to contribute to various Future Earth activities at the science-policy interface and lead our engagement in CBD and IPBES. Find more here.
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Future Earth Vacancy: Intern (Paris, France)
Closes: 15 June 2021
Future Earth Paris Hub is currently seeking an intern for 6 month starting July 2021. The intern will be mainly working on the development and implementation of the Future Earth’s Science-based Pathways for Sustainability initiative, which aims to serve as an ‘incubator for engagement’ by fostering the development of transdisciplinary research through an open Community of Practice. The intern will also be working on the initiative’s outreach and communication strategy. Find more here.
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Call for Proposal: ESA Invitation to Tender on Ocean Health
Closes: 28 June 2021
ESA has launched a call for proposals aimed at developing advanced ocean observations and products to enhance the scientific understanding of the ocean's role in the Earth and climate system and its response to management actions. Three separate contracts will run in parallel to address ocean acidification, marine heat waves, and open ocean biodiversity (>500kEUR). Find more here.
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Call for Abstracts: IMBeR - IMBIZO6
Closes: 30 June 2021
IMBeR will hold its sixth IMBIZO (the Zulu word for a gathering) as a virtual event from 18-22 October 2021. IMBIZO6 will showcase positive, ‘buoyant’ solutions for ocean sustainability currently being discussed and implemented around the world. The event will offer interacting workshops on the themes below and is calling for abstracts.
- Exploring potential marine options for climate intervention
- Lighting the ‘grey zone’: how can we integrate human dimensions in decadal-scale prediction systems?
- Ocean governance and climate adaptation: comparing responses, charting future courses.
Find more details here.
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Workshop Organized by the AIMES Working Group on 'Modeling the Earth System and Human interactions' (MESH)
When: 19-21 July 2021
The Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) is hosting a virtual workshop 'Linking Human and Earth System Models for Global Change Analysis' from 19-21 July 2021. Model and scenario analysis using models of the human and/or Earth System are important tools for global environmental change research. These approaches have informed past assessments produced by the IPCC and contribute to the current AR6 assessment cycle. However, as research questions and new assessments increasingly address the intersection of human and Earth systems, there seems to be a need for improved coupling between human and physical systems that would allow for feedback and interactions to occur and emergent properties to evolve. The workshop will include invited talks, breakout groups, and plenary discussions. For those interested in participating in this workshop and/or submitting a scientific poster for its public lecture event, an open registration application is available here. Find more about the AIMES Working Group on MESH here.
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"Let us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. All of us have to share the Earth's fragile ecosystems and precious resources, and each of us has a role to play in preserving them. If we are to go on living together on this earth, we must all be responsible for it."
– Kofi Annan, the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
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