There are no technical or economic barriers to providing all of the world’s energy from renewable sources, according to a recent study. With a concerted effort, including reduced demand and international cooperation, the researchers suggest that the world could be entirely reliant on renewable energy for electric power, transportation and heating/cooling by 2050.

Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is likely to cause some soils to release large quantities of two potent greenhouse gases (GHGs), nitrous oxide and methane, according to a recent analysis. The results suggest that the contribution of soils and terrestrial ecosystems to slow climate change has been overestimated.

Extreme events, such as droughts and prolonged dry spells, under climate change could increase the water repellency of soils, according to a recent study. In the long-term, this could reduce the capacity of soils to sequester carbon.

Scientists’ best estimates of the Energy Return on Investment (EROI) of oil shale suggest it is very inefficient compared to conventional fuel and emits up to 75% more greenhouse gases (GHGs. However, differences in the way energy efficiency is calculated can cause confusion over its potential use, according to the US study.

A recent study has highlighted the potential of one form of solar power, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), to make a significant contribution to meeting future electricity demands from renewable sources in Europe.

A new study provides an approach for estimating the risk of antibiotic contamination associated with different soils and different antimicrobial products. The researchers estimated and mapped soil contamination risk across Europe and suggest that their methods could be used to inform antibiotic resistance monitoring or policies designed to reduce contamination.

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.

US researchers have found that promoting the environmental benefits of energy-efficient products may actually deter some people from buying them. Since environmental issues have become politically polarised, those who hold more conservative views are less likely to purchase products that are marketed using environmental benefits, they argue.

Agricultural intensification can significantly affect soil ecosystems and the services they provide, new research suggests. Examining soils across Europe, the study demonstrates that high intensity arable land uses have lower diversity and biomass of soil organisms than lower intensity arable or permanent grassland, affecting the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the environment.

Despite the substantial impacts warming and drought can have on soil bacteria and fungi, these are not sustained if external conditions re-stabilise, a new study suggests. Small-scale experiements in five countries across Europe to show that even if warming and droughts continued for over a decade, there were no lasting effects on key properties of soils, such as growth rates, when the soils were allowed to re-stabilise in a laboratory over seven days.

A community-level initiative in the UK has successfully used social marketing techniques to encourage participants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. On average, participants reduced their emissions footprint by 2 tonnes every year. Based on the initiative, the authors of this study propose a framework to guide future community engagement.

The benefits of CO₂ cuts made now, such as avoided floods and droughts, will be felt within the lifetimes of most people alive today, new research indicates. The study’s authors say their work dispels myths that the main effects of CO₂ emissions will not be felt for many decades. They estimate that it could take 10 years for the maximum warming effects of a one-off CO₂ emission to occur.

A number of studies have shown that the public misunderstand global warming. Taking a fresh approach, this study investigated the willingness of the public to take part in activities that mitigate climate change. An international survey of 24 countries revealed that this is strongly related to personal experiences with global warming. The authors say linking actions to benefits could encourage climate change mitigation behaviour.

The risk of drought in the Norrström drainage basin, Sweden, increased during the 20th century, a new study has found. As the frequency of the dry periods increased, less water was available in the landscape for agriculture and for the resupply of groundwater — despite an increase in precipitation in the area over the same period. The researchers reached this conclusion after screening soil moisture conditions in the basin over the course of the century.

Soil and plants store around 5% of the world’s carbon, but carbon storage in some soils is in decline. Recent research has found that climate change accounted for 9–22% of carbon declines in organic soils in semi-natural habitats throughout England and Wales from 1978–2003. The researchers say monitoring soils rich in carbon should be a priority to ensure that more carbon is not released to reinforce climate change.

The solar energy market is hampered by multiple barriers to adoption in the EU and worldwide, according to a new review. Researchers from Sweden and Spain found that lack of government commitment as well as various sociotechnical, management and economic barriers prevent photovoltaic technologies from being more readily adopted.

Huge amounts of soil carbon have been discovered up to 1 metre below grassland in a recent UK study. Yet most carbon inventories do not assess soil deeper than 30cm. Furthermore, this research suggests that intensive management of grassland, involving high rates of fertiliser use and livestock grazing, may deplete carbon at these depths.

Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed increased levels of carbon dioxide, leading to the ocean’s pH becoming more acidic. Effects of these pH changes on marine and estuarine biota is the focus of much research effort worldwide and the authors of this study focus on the larval habitat-choice process of a commercially important tropical marine fish species, Lates calcarifer, barramundi.

Most emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) are linked to the use of nitrogen (N) fertiliser in agriculture, highlighting a need for agricultural management practices that reduce emissions while maintaining agronomic productivity. A new study has assessed the long-term impact of conventional tillage (CT — where soil is prepared for agriculture via mechanical agitation) and no-tillage (NT) systems on soil N2O emissions and crop productivity in rain-fed Mediterranean conditions. The findings show that, over a period of 18 years, mean yield-scaled (i.e. per unit grain yield) soil N2O emissions (YSNE) were 2.8 to 3.3 times lower under NT than CT. The researchers therefore recommend NT as a suitable strategy by which to balance agricultural productivity with lower soil N2O emissions in rain-fed Mediterranean agroecosystems.

A better understanding of the social factors that affect market-based environmental policies could enhance their success, according to researchers. An analysis of reactions to a proposed waste disposal system in Greece indicated that both trust between citizens and trust in institutions could be highly influential in its implementation.

Reducing uncertainties about how and why recycling should be sorted could help to increase the amount of waste that is recycled, according to new research from Sweden. Uncertainties could be reduced by providing people with more information, but are more likely to be resolved by making the recycling systems themselves easier to use, the researchers suggest.

Italian researchers have demonstrated low-cost techniques which may transform fly ash produced by Municipal Solid Waste Incineration from hazardous landfill into potentially the world's fifth largest raw material resource. The initial results have prompted European Commission funding for a demonstration project under LIFE+.

A recent study has investigated how taxes on virgin raw materials used in construction, such as gravel and sand, have reduced the use of these resources, based on experiences in Denmark, Sweden and the UK. However, greater incentives to recycle these materials are still needed, says the study.

A recent study has found that improved management of phosphorus in the EU would reduce reliance on imported phosphorus, in addition to reducing damage from excess phosphorus in the environment. This could be achieved through the appropriate use of fertilisers and greater recovery and recycling of phosphorus from all waste sources.

Improved public communications and standardised collection systems can greatly increase uptake of safe and sustainable waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) disposal and recycling. This is according to new insights from Italy and Romania, where WEEE collection rates have risen in response to these measures.

The challenge of measuring the ‘absence of waste’ makes it particularly difficult to monitor and evaluate waste prevention policies. Researchers have examined the strengths and weaknesses of nine methods of assessing waste prevention, and recommend a hybrid approach, which combines the best of many methods, as particularly valuable.

Increasing resource efficiency is a central aim of European environmental policy, and effective waste management must play a key role in this. A new report assesses waste management in 32 European countries, and identifies key lessons. Landfill taxes and mandatory separate collections of different waste types are highlighted as particularly successful policy instruments.

Flat screen televisions and computer monitors should be designed so they can be quickly dismantled for recycling, a recent study says. The researchers calculated that in order to ensure the recycling process remains economically viable, it must be possible to disassemble small screens in less than 11 minutes. Good design could lower the costs of recycling and enable near-total recovery of precious metals from the waste screens.

The Alang-Sosiya shipbreaking yard in India is highly polluted with heavy metals, a study concludes. The researchers studied heavy metal contamination in sediments taken from the intertidal zone of the shipbreaking yard and compared them to a control site. The area was found to be ‘strongly polluted’ with copper, cobalt, manganese, lead and zinc.

A study has evaluated three types of media campaign conducted by a large UK supermarket to encourage shoppers to reduce their food waste. These used social media, an e-newsletter and a print/digital magazine, respectively. Although they all appeared to lead to reductions in food waste to some extent, similar behavioural changes were also seen for customers who had not participated in any of the campaigns.

Recycled waste material could play a major role in the construction of roads in Europe, bringing both environmental and economic benefits. A new study proposes a scenario where 50% of the asphalt for Europe’s roads consists of recycled materials, leading to significant reductions in costs, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Concern is growing around the issue of energy efficiency in data centres (DC) as more and more data are saved, processed, and transferred to facilitate myriad digital services worldwide. Utilising waste heat from DCs as heating for nearby districts may be a potential solution if technical and knowledge barriers are overcome, suggests this Finnish study, which identified key obstacles to this concept and possible methods of implementation.

Scientists have tested the behaviour of biodegradable plastics in managed composting and anaerobic conditions, as well as under simulated environmental conditions, such as in seawater or soil. This study found that blending different types of biodegradable plastics may open up new opportunities in relation to their end-of-life treatment — notably the potential to make one of the world’s best-selling biodegradable plastics, polyactic acid (PLA), home-compostable by blending it with another polymer (polycaprolactone — PCL). However, the researchers were also concerned that most materials tested could still cause plastic pollution as they failed to biodegrade sufficiently — and, in some cases, not at all, in particular, in soil and the marine environment.

Adding compost to compacted urban soils can provide a lasting effect that aids tree growth, new research indicates. Urban soils improved with added organic material are less compacted after five years compared with soils that have not been treated with organic composts, the study suggests.

How best to integrate the ecosystem services concept into regional planning? A recent study provides a practical example for an area in Germany that is faced with an increased risk of soil erosion under climate change. Researchers used a decision-support system incorporating ecosystem services to show that measures to reduce soil losses could also support a number of other services.

Green walls, designed so they are covered in vegetation, could help cut the amount of noise that enters buildings, a new study has found. In lab. tests, researchers found that a modular green wall system reduced sound levels by 15 decibels (dB). This leads them to believe that it is a promising sound reduction device that could improve quality-of-life for city residents.

IT company Cognizant announced it will acquire Collaborative Solutions, a privately-held global consultancy specialising in Workday enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR.

In this environment, the delivery of platform-enabled solutions at speed across the entire technology stack becomes even more important, it said. From cloud to networking, data centre to security and more, breadth and depth of capability are essential to recover and restore operations and position organisations strongly for the coming years.

Traditional services also have some very strong propositions, like digital workplace, engineering services. Some of the demand for that is intact and it is only getting accelerated.

Covid-19 crisis has seen a surge in demand for the roles of CISOs and CDOs, while the CIO role seems to be headed for an on-demand model among the small and medium enterprises.

Injecting light-reflecting particles into the atmosphere to counteract rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions cannot stabilise both temperatures and rainfall in all regions of the world at the same time, according to recent research. This raises serious questions about how such a process could be managed.

New research indicates that large-scale wind farms may influence local weather. It suggests the impact can be minimised by changing the design of the rotors or positioning wind farms in regions with high natural turbulence. These strategies could also make the farms more productive.

Scientists have reviewed the potential for worldwide development of geothermal energy systems in old, unused mines. The technology is proven in many sites and could therefore help increase the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix, offering sustainability and job creation, which may make mining operations more appealing to investors, communities and policymakers.

Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) is a long-term, ‘hands-off’ approach to cleaning up contaminated land. New research has surveyed the current development of MNA in Europe and demonstrates a clear need for practitioners to systematically collect and learn from each other’s experiences with this form of brownfield remediation.

Some agricultural activities, such as irrigation, could be powered by renewable sources, a new study indicates. Farm machinery could also be renewably-powered, but the machinery would need to be adapted to use renewable electricity, instead of liquid fuel.

Recycling offers a promising means of supplying the rare earth elements neodymium and dysprosium, used in computing and low-carbon technologies, research suggests. If recycling infrastructure and technologies are prepared now to deal with the larger volumes of high-tech waste expected in the future, 7-9% of global demand for these critical elements could be met by recycling by the year 2030.

Construction of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants – electricity generation which concentrates sunlight to generate heat – can have a range of negative effects on wildlife, but these effects are short lived, new research has found. Once in use, CSP plants can even have some positive effects, reducing soil erosion, for instance.

‘Dye-sensitised solar cells’ (DSSCs) are an alternative to traditional silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells. They have a number of advantages over traditional PV solar cells, including greater flexibility and lower manufacturing cost, but they are less efficient at turning sunlight into electricity. Taking inspiration from nature, new research has doubled their efficiency using pine tree-shaped nanotubes.

‘Perovskite solar cells’ (PSCs) are less costly than conventional silicon solar cells, but one of their key components is energy-intensive to manufacture as high temperatures are needed. Now researchers have identified new alternative materials for this component which cut energy demands as they can be produced at low temperatures.