EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics - News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Jun-2025 07:10 ET (29-Jun-2025 11:10 GMT/UTC)

Partnership working key to unlocking EV battery recycling problem

University of Birmingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Recyclers, battery manufacturers, and electric vehicle ma.nufacturers must work together to revolutionise lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling processes to meet ever-growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems

Journal: Nature Reviews Clean Technology

Study examines how African farmers are adapting to mountain climate change

Colorado State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new international study highlights the severity of climate change impacts across African mountains, how farmers are adapting, and the barriers they face – findings relevant to people living in mountain regions around the world. 

Journal: Nature Climate Change

Protection for small-scale producers and the environment?

University of Göttingen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sustainability certificates such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Cocoa Life promise to improve the livelihoods of small-scale cocoa producers while preserving the biodiversity on their plantations. Together with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, researchers from the University of Göttingen have investigated whether sustainability certificates actually achieve both these goals. To find out, they carried out an analysis within the Ghanaian cocoa production sector. Their results show that although certification improves both cocoa yield and cocoa income for small-scale producers, they were unable to find any effects on biodiversity in the cocoa plantations. The results were published in the journal Ecological Economics.

Journal: Ecological Economics

The cost of preventing extinction of Australia’s priority species

Griffith University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study has estimated it would cost $15.6 billion per year for 30 years to prevent extinction for 99 of Australia’s priority species. The research, led by Griffith University’s Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security with WWF-Australia and the University of Queensland, highlights the urgent need for increased funding to combat threats such as habitat destruction, invasive species and climate change.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

UC San Diego physician-scientist to lead new Lancet commission on U.S. societal resilience in a global pandemic age

University of California - San Diego
Grant and Award Announcement

Led by UC San Diego physician-scientist Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, a new commission convened by the medical journal The Lancet will recommend how to build more resilient communities in the face of pandemics, climate change and other interconnected global challenges.

A roadmap for protecting our democracies in the age of AI

University of Ottawa
Reports and Proceedings

The year 2025 will be an important one for democracies worldwide: several dozen countries are due to hold national elections in a world profoundly transformed by artificial intelligence (AI). Recent cases – notably in Romania, Brazil, Gabon and the United States – illustrate the need for action to protect electoral integrity as the proliferation of fake news and growing use of deepfakes – in particular – are affecting public confidence and the quality of democratic debate. To meet these challenges, academic experts from the North and the South have proposed actions aimed at supporting our institutions to better guard against the negative effects and risks generated by AI interference on elections and democratic processes.To meet these challenges, academic experts from the North and the South have proposed actions aimed at supporting our institutions to better guard against the negative effects and risks generated by AI interference on elections and democratic processes.

Study finds most Americans oppose detaining sick undocumented immigrants but support post-treatment detention

Texas A&M University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health surveyed more than 6,100 respondents. Their study is thought to be the first to assess the public’s perceptions of the role of the nation’s interior border checkpoints as gatekeepers to health care access.

Journal: Health Economics Policy and Law