Since the implementation of protective closures in 2022, bottom fishing in European waters has declined by 81% in 87 vulnerable marine ecosystems located at depths of 400-800 metres, a study published in Science Advances reveals. However, according to the authors, these deep-water regions continued to receive many incursions by Spanish and French vessels.
US researchers have estimated that replacing conventional building materials in new infrastructure with CO2 capturing alternatives - such as mixing carbon aggregates into concrete or using bio-based materials in bricks - could store billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. According to the study, published in the journal Science, the move could help meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Meeting in the city of Windoek (Namibia), the plenary of the IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - has ratified two new reports: the Nexus Assessment and the Transformative Change Assessment. Three of their authors explained the main findings and the changes they propose at a briefing organised by SMC Spain.
Funding has been one of the major obstacles to agreement at the Baku Climate Summit. More sustainable science also depends on how research is funded. It is imperative that research institutions also develop strategies to incorporate more sustainable practices and contribute to climate neutrality.
The development of generative artificial intelligence, and in particular of large language models, could generate between 1.2 and 5 million tonnes of accumulated electronic waste between 2020 and 2030, according to a study published in Nature Computational Science. The study estimates the mass of waste generated by hardware elements such as processing units, storage units and power supply systems.
A review published in the journal Science Advances examines how the expansion of marine aquaculture - the farming of aquatic organisms in the ocean - can lead to risks, such as degradation of the marine environment. The study is part of a special issue of the journal dedicated to this growing industry.
Burying woody biomass in wooden vaults would allow carbon to be extracted and stored from the atmosphere, according to a study published in Science. The authors were inspired by an eastern red cedar log preserved underground for more than 3,700 years in Canada. The team proposes burying wood from sustainable sources in a domed wooden structure designed to extend the duration of carbon storage. The authors estimate that up to 10 gigatonnes of CO2 could be sequestered annually using this technique.
Lithium, a material widely used for battery production, is typically extracted from rocks and concentrated brines, but these reserves are expected to run out by 2080. The alternative is to evaporate more diluted brines (such as seawater), but the traditional process is inefficient, polluting, and consumes large amounts of water. Two new studies published in Science propose two more viable and environmentally friendly alternative methods: the first uses a membrane that filters lithium through a transpiration system similar to that of plants, requiring only solar energy. The second combines electrodes to mimic a battery and move lithium from the brine (cathode) to fresh water (anode).
Analysis of 1,500 climate policies implemented in 41 countries over the last two decades - between 1998 and 2022 - shows that a small proportion - 63 of them - achieved a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The study, published in Science, indicates that a significant decrease in these emissions was recorded in the transport sector in Spain. According to the authors, the combination of several policy instruments is often more effective than the use of single measures.
Researchers have developed a new method to produce a heat-resistant plastic from renewable plant materials. They also claim that it is easily recyclable, decomposing into methanol, which would allow it to enter the circular economy. The research is published in the journal Science.