Tree crops – for example, apple, cherry, olives, nuts, coffee, and cacao – cover more than 183 million hectares worldwide, yet remain largely overlooked in agricultural policies, despite their critical role in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). An international research team, with the participation of Göttingen University, highlight how these crops are not only essential to feed the world and for global economies, but also hold immense potential for protecting biodiversity and the climate, as well as improving livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. The findings were published in a Perspectives article in Nature Sustainability.

In a vital effort to address our planet’s most profound and urgent challenges through a distinctive lens, Clark University has announced the establishment of the School of Climate, Environment, and Society, to open in Fall 2025.

The school elevates Clark’s historic academic strengths and leading-edge research to embolden an urgently needed response to climate change and related ecological and social crises. To address these challenges, society needs a better way of understanding our world. Clark programs will advance critical systems thinking that integrates learning from across traditional disciplines like economics, political and social sciences, natural sciences, data sciences, the humanities, and business — empowering students and faculty to pursue innovative and human-focused approaches to global problems on a local, regional, and planetary scale.

A new University of Houston study of hemp microbes may lead to more sustainable farming methods, using nature to boost the growth of the plant which has become increasingly popular for its versatile uses: CBD-rich varieties are in high demand for pharmaceutical products, while fiber-rich varieties are valued for industrial applications like textiles. 

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are used in the aerospace, automotive, and sports equipment industries. However, their recycling remains a major problem. In a recent study, researchers from Waseda University demonstrated a novel direct discharge electrical pulse method for the efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly separation of CFRPs to recover high-quality carbon fibers. This work is expected to pave the way for a more sustainable world.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University used mathematical tools from game theory to show that in certain situations, allowing platforms to retain decision-making power over the collection and commercialization of their users’ data can enhance overall welfare. The study was conducted by Prof. Yaron Yehezkel from the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Prof. Sarit Markovich from Northwestern University in Illinois.