Against the backdrop of negotiations at COP30 in Belém, a group of leading climate scientists has released the Búzios Scientific Statement, offering a clear assessment of the world’s remaining options to return to 1.5°C of warming by the end of the century. The statement reflects growing recognition that a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C is now unavoidable, while also showing that pathways back to safer temperature levels remain open if action accelerates quickly.

As the world faces mounting challenges from climate change, population growth, and resource scarcity, this book provides a forward-looking perspective on how controlled environment horticulture (CEH) can revolutionize global food systems. It brings together insights on smart greenhouses, vertical farming, bioreactor-based production, precision agriculture, and gene-edited crops, showcasing how technological and biological innovation can converge to enhance yield, quality, and resource efficiency.

New research finds damage to rice crops has accelerated in recent decades due to rainstorms that increasingly submerge young plants for a week or more. Adoption of flood-resistant rice varieties in vulnerable regions could help avert future losses.

The University of Oxford’s TIDE Centre today launched the Nature’s Intelligence Studio, a new programme to translate principles observed in biological systems into technologies that support the energy transition and wider sustainability goals, while ensuring fair benefit-sharing with communities in biodiverse regions.